UN's peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara enters liquidation phase after mandate expires

LAAYOUNE, Western Sahara (AP) — The U.N. peacekeeping mission in the disputed territory of Western Sahara will start repatriating personnel, closing a dozen facilities and disposing of equipment as part of a “liquidation phase” following a U.S.-Russia standoff at the Security Council last week.

The mission’s abrupt end after 35 years raises questions about security and stability in the region. Western Sahara is a vast desert nearly the size of Colorado and rich in fisheries and minerals. The contested resource corridor once ruled by Spain is now claimed by both Morocco and the pro-independence Polisario Front.

U.N. peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix said late Wednesday that the department dealing with operational issues of the U.N.’s far-flung peacekeeping missions wants to ensure an “orderly'' retreat. “And we count, of course, on the full cooperation of all the parties.”

The U.N. mission, known as MINURSO, was established in 1991 to monitor a ceasefire between Morocco and the Polisario Front and organize a referendum on self-determination.

But the vote never materialized, as the two sides failed to agree on who would be eligible to participate. The ceasefire collapsed in 2020, and the U.N. says the region remains marked by tensions and low-intensity hostilities.

During the mission, 20 U.N. personnel lost their lives. The U.N. force was authorized to have 534 personnel, and its 2026-2027 budget was more than $62 million. The top military contributors to the force were Egypt, Ghana and Pakistan.

Morocco’s royal palace, which oversees the country’s foreign policy, welcomed the mission’s end, saying it had failed to monitor the ceasefire. The Polisario Front and Algeria, meanwhile, regretted the decision not to renew its mandate.

Stéphane Dujarric, a spokesperson for the Secretary-General of the U.N., said the liquidation will include “the repatriation of approximately 160 military observers, the drawdown of 180 civilians and affiliated personnel, and the closure of about 13 mission facilities and team sites.”

In Laayoune, the capital of Western Sahara and home to MINURSO’s headquarters, U.N. and Moroccan flags continued to fly side by side on Thursday. U.N.-marked vehicles still move through the disputed city’s streets, where Moroccan flags and portraits of King Mohammed VI are a constant presence. Above the entrance to the mission’s headquarters, a sign reads: “Welcome to the United Nations.” For now, there is no visible indication that the mission is preparing to leave.

The closure serves Morocco’s push for full sovereignty over Western Sahara, while further isolating the Polisario Front, whose international support has dwindled in recent years. But it also leaves the future of the region’s fragile ceasefire uncertain.

“MINURSO peacekeepers helped to keep a lid on escalation,'' Hamish Kinnear, a U.K.-based analyst focusing on North Africa, told The Associated Press. Its "on-the-ground presence meant there was a stronger international stake in maintaining the peace in Western Sahara, even if its key purpose — to arrange a referendum — was becoming increasingly unlikely due to the shifting diplomatic position of key powers.''

The withdrawal gives Morocco “a freer hand'' against the Polisario, Kinnear said. He predicted that Sahrawis will increasingly call for alternative strategies.

Lederer reported from New York.