Staffan de Mistura, the UN envoy for Western Sahara, met with members of the Polisario independence movement on Saturday in Tindouf, Algeria, as part of a regional trip, according to Sahrawi sources.
Western Sahara, a sizable area of mineral-rich desert that Morocco views as a sovereign portion of its own territory, is where the Polisario Front, which is supported by Algeria, seeks to establish an independent state.
Khatri Addouh, the Polisario’s main negotiator, and Omar Sidi Mohamed, the group’s permanent representative to the UN, met with De Mistura in a Sahrawi refugee camp.
After the discussions, Sidi Mohamed stated that the Polisario movement was “dedicated to a just peace, just as it was committed to preserving… the right of the Sahrawi people to achieve their legitimate aspiration for autodetermination and independence.”
He continued by saying that the movement was prepared to work with the UN and its representative to find “a peaceful, just, and permanent solution.”
The camp is situated in Tindouf, far southwest Algeria, close to the borders with Morocco and Western Sahara, where the Polisario Front is headquartered.
De Mistura was “looking forward to further consultations with all parties involved on the prospect of constructively advancing the political process in Western Sahara,” a UN spokesperson said in a statement announcing the visit on Friday.
