Tags : Western Sahara, MINURSO, Polisario Front, Morocco, Military Agreement Nr 1, MINURSO deployment map, ceasefire monitoring,

In 1975 Morocco invaded Western Sahara. In 1991 the UN brokered a ceasefire between the Moroccan Armed Forces and the Frente Polisario independence movement. The United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) was established to organise a referendum on self determination for this disputed, non-self governing territory, and to monitor the ceasefire.

The terms of the ceasefire were set out in three documents published on the MINURSO website :

– The Military Agreement Nr 1

– The ceasefire monitoring

– A map which describe the zones defined under the ceasefire, as follows: One 5 kilometres (3 mi) wide Buffer Strip (BS) to the South and East side of the Berm [the 1500 km wall built by Morocco to secure the areas it has occupied in the north and west of Western Sahara]; Two 30 kilometres (19 mi) wide Restricted Areas (RA) along the Berm. The Buffer Strip is included in the Restricted Area on the POLISARIO side and the Berm is included in the Restricted Area on the RMA side.

Two Areas with Limited Restrictions (ALR), which are the two remaining vast, stretches of land of Western Sahara on both sides respectively.

Sometime in 2010 the text of MA #1, the Map No A4-010 and the ceasefire monitoring text were removed from the MINURSO website, an action that is beneficial to Morocco and prejudicial to the peace process. A peacekeeping force mandated to monitor a ceasefire should be transparent with respect to its mandate and objectives. MINURSO is not, and the removal of this vital information could be interpreted as MINURSO abandonned its main aim, the self-determination referendum. MINURSO have ignored repeated enquiries regarding this matter.

Military Agreement #1 and its military deployment in Western Sahara are available in the MINURSO old web version here in an archive website.

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Text of the Military Agreement Nr 1

1. Aim

1.1. This is an agreement between the Royal Moroccan Army (RMA) and MINURSO on the one side and the Frente POLISARIO Military Forces (FPMF) and MINURSO on the other side.

1.2. This agreement covers the period from now until the start of the transitional period (D-Day, the day the provisional list of Sahrawi people eligible to vote is published) within the framework of the present peace process. For the transitional period, this agreement will be replaced by new rules.

1.3. The purpose of this agreement is to lay down the guidelines and procedures to be followed by both parties to the conflict, the RMA and the FPMF, in the framework of the implementation of the cease-fire, which came into effect on 6 September 1991, in order to ensure that no type of hostility is resumed.

1.4. The agreement defines all violations which are not only violations to this agreement but are also contrary to the spirit of the peace plan, and which will be reported to higher authority. It also defines the rights of the United Nations Military Observers (UNMOs) in the performance of their tasks.

2. Geographical definitions

In the framework of this agreement and in order to reach a better understanding, the following definitions are taken for granted:

Buffer Strip (BS): It covers a width of 5 km and runs all along the berm, to the South and East of this line. The berm is not included in the BS.

Restricted Areas (RA): These are two 30 km wide areas, located to the North and the West of the berm for the first area, to the South and the East of the berm for the second. The berm is included in the first RA and the buffer strip in the second RA.

Areas with Limited Restrictions (ALR): They are the stretches of land respectively located on the Northern and Western side of the first restricted area, and on the Southern and Eastern side of the second restricted area.

3. Restrictions on military Activities within the areas

3.1. Buffer Strip (BS)

The entry of RMA and FPMF personnel or equipment, by ground or air, and the firing of weapons in or over this area, is prohibited at all times and is a violation.

3.2. Restricted areas (RA)

3.2.1. The following actions are prohibited in the RA and constitute a violation:

Firing of weapons and/or conducting military training exercises, with the exception of physical training activities of unarmed personnel.

Tactical reinforcement, redeployment or movements of troops, HQs/units, stores, equipment, ammunition and weapons, with the exception of the movement of troops who are to go to their ALR to take part in manoeuvres and firing exercises.

Entry of military fighter, training and air reconnaissance aircraft, as well as aerial surveillance. An exception will be made for helicopters used for medical evacuations, V.I.P. liaisons and maintenance flights, providing always that MINURSO be informed in advance or, if this was not possible, at the earliest.

Any improvement to defence infrastructure to include:

Reinforcing existing minefields or laying mines,

Constructing barbed wire or other types of obstacles,

Digging new trenches and new weapon emplacements,

Constructing new berm walls (sand, stone and concrete),

Expanding the size of any unit perimeter,

Stockpiling ammunition and weapons or the construction of new storage sites for weapons and ammunition.

3.2.2. The following are prohibited without prior approval by MINURSO military authorities:

Maintenance of berms using mechanical means (5 days notice)

Maintenance of existing facilities or weapon emplacements using mechanical means (7-days notice)

Construction of storage facilities other than those mentioned in para. 3.2.1., new buildings or the extension of already existing buildings (7-days notice),

The use of explosives:

Digging of wells (7-days notice)

Destruction of an isolated mine or ordnance (2-days notice)

Destruction of old/faulty ammo (7-days notice)

To repair the damage caused by bad weather conditions, work can be started after MINURSO has been informed.

3.2.3. MINURSO will be informed in advance if the following actions are to be conducted:

24 hours to set up logistic convoys of 10 or more vehicles,

7 days to upgrade dirt tracks to paved roads,

Failure to inform MINURSO is a violation.

3.3. Areas with Limited Restrictions (ALR)

All normal military activities can be carried out in the ALR with the exception of the reinforcement of existing minefields, the laying of mines, the concentration of forces, the construction of new HQs, barracks and ammunition storage facilities. The RMA and FPMF will also inform the commander of MINURSO if they intend to conduct military exercises in these areas, including the firing of weapons of a calibre above 9mm.

Failure to inform MINURSO is a violation.

4. Rights of the Military Observers

Military Observers have complete freedom of movement/action to conduct the following tasks in the MINURSO area of responsibility and any restriction to this freedom of movement and action is a violation:

Visit to unit -company size and above- CPs and to HQs (with the exception of the living quarters).

Conduct any type of patrols at any time, by ground or by air,

Park in the vicinity of units.

Any behaviour or action aimed at intimidating military observers is a violation.

5. Procedure in case of violation

In the event of a violation occurring, MINURSO will notify the offending party in writing. If the written response is not satisfactory, MINURSO will report the violation to UN New York for diplomatic action.

6. Transmission of the agreement

The two parties are requested to inform their subordinates of this agreement through their respective chains of command.

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Ceasefire Monitoring

1. On 1 September 1991 the first one hundred United Nations Military Observers (UNMOs) were deployed by MINURSO to Western Sahara in order to monitor the formal ceasefire which went into effect on 6 September 1991. The two military parties to the conflict, the Royal Moroccan Army (RMA) and the Frente POLISARIO (FPOL), have since avoided any resumption of the armed conflict. No serious incident involving the exchange of weapons fire has occurred.

2. The purpose of MINURSO’s military activities is clear. In the absence of mutual confidence, it is MINURSO’s task to reassure each party that the other party is not changing the status quo, nor is building up and preparing for offensive operations. MINURSO monitors the activities of the two parties day and night all year round through a combination of ground and air patrols and observation posts as well as through visits and inspections of units and headquarters. Both parties can be assured that they and the Security Council will be informed if MINURSO observes any activity that could lead to breaches of the ceasefire.

3.MINURSO’s peacekeeping activities allow the two parties and the civilian population to focus on their daily activities without any imminent risk of a new armed conflict. At the political level, the ceasefire “buys time” for the ongoing search for a lasting settlement of the Western Sahara issue.

4. Military officers from 27 countries serve as UNMOs in nine team sites located far out in the vast desert and in the MINURSO Liaison Office in Tindouf, Algeria. Each day, UNMOs perform approximately 25 day and night ground and helicopter patrols throughout Western Sahara using the team sites as their patrol base. Each month the patrolling amounts to more than 100.000 km of desert driving, the conduct of 50 to 60 helicopter reconnaissance, around 700 conducted ground patrols by 4×4 vehicle, and the visit to and inspection of 500 military headquarters and 1700 military units of the two parties.

5. The nine team-sites report their observations to MINURSO Headquarters in Laayoune, where UNMOs serving as staff officers analyse their reports and issue instructions for future patrolling. The reporting from team sites also serves to keep UN Headquarters in New York informed on the situation. The main focus is on military activities close to the 1750 km long “Berm” that cuts across Western Sahara. But patrols also monitor the situation in cities far from the Berm as the MINURSO geographical area of responsibility (AOR) covers the whole of Western Sahara.

6. MINURSO military component maintains close contact at all levels of the two parties for exchange of information and to ensure cooperation in critical and tense situations as well as the building of mutual trust. The UNMOs act in a professional, firm and impartial manner to achieve the mandate entrusted to them by the UN Security Council.

7. In order to perform their tasks, it is important that MINURSO UNMOs have full freedom of movement (FOM) throughout Western Sahara. This is generally the situation when patrolling in the desert and urban areas, whereas UNMOs access to some units, headquarters and strong-points are often subject to restrictions by either party. This is a major obstacle as UNMOs should be able to verify that the status quo is respected and that parties adhere to the ceasefire provisions and military agreements. MINURSO is working with both parties to have all restrictions lifted. Until then, all FOM violations are reported to United Nations Headquarters.

8. The nine team sites need to accommodate 20 UNMOs each on average. As there is no access to external water supply, electricity etc., each team site must function with its own facilities like generators, kitchen, cooling, washing, toilets, communication, etc. Fuel, water, spare-parts, food etc. need to be transported to each team site with trucks, aircrafts and helicopters. The daily administrative, medical and logistic support requirements are therefore quite demanding as the team sites are located in remote locations, several hundred kilometres out in the desert.

9. Medical support is provided by a twenty- person strong Medical Unit , currently from Malaysia (MMU). The MMU is located at MINURSO Headquarters in Laayoune but there are always two medical teams rotating through the various team sites.

10. During patrolling, it happens that MINURSO officers meet people in distress. UNMOs will then provide emergency help on a purely humanitarian basis. In the past such help included medical evacuations, provision of emergency food and water as well as medical assistance from the medical teams.

SOURCE : MAROC CONFIDENTIEL, March 14, 2025

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