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President Trump’s decision to recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara region ends American neutrality in a conflict that threatens to destabilize a corner of North Africa critical to the security interests of the United States and Europe.
Morocco’s decades-long conflict with Western Sahara independence fighters had been dormant until last month. Clashes broke out again in November after nearly three decades in which a United Nations-brokered ceasefire helped maintain relations between Morocco and Algeria, the main sponsor of the independence movement. Both countries are important security partners to both the United States and Europe.
Left unchecked, observers warn that it could damage security in the wider region, attracting criminal arms smuggling and smuggling networks that could link it to conflicts in Libya, Mali and Niger.
“This is a problem that needs attention, needs resolution, and is going from a simmer to a simmer. Trump just lit the fire, “said Hannah Rae Armstrong, an independent expert on the conflict.
Trump’s proclamation on Thursday backed Morocco’s claim to Western Sahara in exchange for opening diplomatic relations with Israel, the fourth country to do so since August as part of a White House effort to negotiate relations between the Jewish-led state. and the neighbors of the Middle East. .
