The United Nations has sent an overland convoy to resupply its peacekeeping mission in separatist-controlled Western Sahara for the first time since 2020. The UN says its presence in the field is key to finding a way to resolve the disagreement over what to do with the territory.

Two sites hosting UN peacekeepers as part of the Minurso mission were resupplied from April 5 to 7, said Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres, on Monday.

Since November 2020 and the resumption of hostilities between separatists and the Moroccan government, ground convoys have been limited, and supplies arrived via plane and helicopter. This limited what could be brought in, notably fuel.

The sites in Tifariti and Mehaires are both east of the 2,700 kilometre-long sand wall separating the Moroccan-controlled part of the former Spanish colony from that controlled by the Polisario Front, an armed separatist movement that has been fighting for independence since the 1970s.

'Non self-governing territory'

The deliveries were brokered with the support of both Polisario and the Moroccan government, and Dujarric said a UN presence in the field is crucial "to create space for the political process to progress".

Morocco, which controls about 80 percent of the territory, built the sand wall in the 1980s, splitting the territory from north to south.

It supports limited autonomy for the territory, which would remain under Moroccan control.

The Polisario Front has called for independence and has denounced Morocco's using its natural resources.

The UN currently considers Western Sahara, which was relinquished by Spain in 1975, a "non-self-governing territory".

Minurso was established to monitor a 1991 cease-fire and organise a referendum on self-determination. But the ceasefire has broken down in recent years, and tensions and disagreements have put off any vote.

(with AFP)