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UN Security Council expresses concern over POWs

Country Map - Western Sahara, The dispute northwestern terrirtory caught in a 27 year-old conflict. IRIN
    ABIDJAN

    Members of the UN Security Council on Tuesday urged the Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Rio de Oro (POLISARIO) to release all prisoners of war, Council Chairman Adolfo Aguilar Zinser said in a statement.

    The statement came on the first day of a Council meeting on Western Sahara, during which Hédi Annabi, Assistant Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations, presented the UN Secretary-General's latest report on the former Spanish colony.

    According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Polisario Front holds some 1,362 Moroccan prisoners, some of whom have spent over 26 years in detention. Morocco on the other hand has released all of its prisoners

    Members of the Security Council also urged Morocco and the Polisario Front "to avoid any action that can aggravate the situation" and "to ensure freedom of movement of United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO)".

    Morocco annexed Western Sahara when Spain withdrew in 1975, prompting the Polisario Front to take up arms to fight for independence. The two sides signed a ceasefire in 1991, paving the way for the deployment of MINURSO. However, efforts to organise a referendum on the territory's future have failed thus far.

    The Council meeting was scheduled to continue on Wednesday.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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