Polisario Front Bets on "War Narrative" to Offset Growing International Isolation

In the wake of UN Security Council Resolution 2797, which has clarified the framework for resolving the Western Sahara dispute, the Polisario Front appears to be doubling down on its "war narrative." Hespress reports that the Front is issuing "military communiques" that claim supposed battlefield victories, a strategy analysts believe is designed to project an image of military strength it does not possess.

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The only weapon that has not rusted in its depots is the weapon of words.

Experts, including Abdel Fattah El Fatihi, director of the Sahara and Africa Center for Strategic Studies, suggest that the Polisario's "verbal escalation" is a direct consequence of its increasing international isolation. These communiques, which have no tangible impact on the ground, serve a dual purpose: to maintain the illusion of an ongoing conflict among residents of the Tindouf camps and to assert the Front's relevance on the international stage, ensuring it remains a factor in any UN-led negotiations.

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The continuation of the Polisario Front in issuing what are called military communiques is primarily due to the near-total exclusion of this separatist organization from the expected changes in the file of the Sahara conflict, and therefore it is only trying to attract the attention of international and UN bodies to keep it as part of the procedural measures related to the activation of the last decision of the UN Security Council.

This tactic is particularly evident as international delegations visit the region, with the Polisario attempting to create a false reality through its statements. El Fatihi notes that this approach poses a threat to regional security and peace, demonstrating a lack of cooperation with the international community's efforts to find a political settlement based on Morocco's autonomy plan. The Front's defiance, potentially emboldened by support from Algeria and a desire to counter calls for its designation as a terrorist organization in the US, highlights its struggle to adapt to evolving geopolitical dynamics.

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The Polisario is trying to wave the card of escalation through such statements, and therefore it has become a threat to security and peace in the region, and does not show any cooperation with the international community regarding finding a political settlement to the conflict of the Moroccan Sahara on the basis of the autonomy plan supported by the international community.