UN mission in Western Sahara not back to strength

AUnited Nations peacekeeping mission in disputed Western Sahara is still not fully functional, the UN Security Council president said on Tuesday, months after Morocco expelled dozens of civilian staff in anger at remarks by UN chief Ban Ki-moon.

During a visit to refugee camps for Sahrawi people in March, Ban described Morocco’s 1975 annexation of Western Sahara as an “occupation,” sparking the worst dispute between Rabat and the world body since the UN brokered a ceasefire to end a war over the disputed region and established the UN mission MINURSO.

In April, the Security Council extended MINURSO’s mandate for another year and demanded urgent restoration of its full functionality. The United Nations has been in talks with Morocco and this month 25 civilian staff were allowed to return.

“There was agreement by the (UN) secretariat as well as the council members that we have not reached that goal of full functionality,” Japanese UN Ambassador Koro Bessho, council president for July, told reporters after UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous briefed the 15-member council on the situation.

Before the staff reductions, MINURSO had nearly 500 military and civilian personnel.

Morocco’s UN Ambassador Omar Hilale declined to say how many civilian staff Rabat would allow to return. He said the focus is not on a number but on the efficiency of the mission.

Security Council members expressed “strong hope” that the UN mission could return to full functionality as soon as possible, Bessho said. UN spokesman Farhan Haq said there was agreement on a phased return of staff. “We’ll have to see what further returns can happen,” Haq said earlier on Tuesday. chaos there to build a base and take over the city of Sirte.

Morocco has been the target of militant attacks, most recently in 2011 in Marrakesh, when an explosion in a cafe killed 15 people.