The Polisario Front, the organisation seeking independence for the disputed territory of Western Sahara, said this weekend it had launched attacks on Moroccan forces after ending a 30-year ceasefire.
The rebel group, which is backed by neighbouring Algeria, said on Saturday that “attacks of the Sahrawi People’s Liberation Army units continue against various hiding places of the Moroccan enemy along its positions in the occupied parts of the Sahrawi territory, causing loss of lives and equipments and disrupting its military plans”.
Western Sahara, an arid and sparsely populated strip of land, has been under Moroccan control since 1975, when Spain, the occupying power, pulled out its forces.
Since then the Polisario front has sought independence while the UN has been trying to organise a referendum on self-determination.