Morocco orders members of UN mission to leave
Date
3/17/2016 4:06:30 PM
(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) Morocco has asked members of the UN mission in the Western Sahara to leave the country in the latest move taken by Rabat to protest recent comments by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon about the disputed region.
In a Thursday statement the Foreign Ministry said it has delivered a list of the names of members of the UN mission known as MINURSO who should leave in the coming days.
"Practical measures have been taken to scrap Morocco's financial contribution to MINURSO" the statement said.
On Tuesday the Moroccan government decided to cut staff at the UN mission and stop its voluntary contribution to the mission.
Rabat also said that it will look into pulling Moroccan contingents from UN peacekeeping missions.
The Moroccan moves came after Rabat was angered by Ban’s use of the world “occupation” during his visit to refugee camps for native Sahrawis in southern Algeria earlier this month.
Thousands of Moroccans demonstrated on Sunday to protest Ban's remarks regarding the disputed region which Morocco views as part of its territory.
The two sides signed a ceasefire in 1991 but talks aimed at resolving the conflict have since been deadlocked.
While Polisario – which is backed by Morocco's regional rival Algeria – wants a referendum on the region's fate Rabat has said it will not offer more than autonomy for the region.
By Khaled Majdoub
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