Western Sahara: Morocco celebrates end of the UN mission Minurso - BBC News

An impasse between the US and Russia at the UN means its peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara has ended after 35 years.

Image source, AFP via Getty ImagesImage caption, Morocco claims Western Sahara as part of its territory

Morocco has welcomed the end of a decades-long UN peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara, after a diplomatic showdown between the US and Russia left the Security Council unable to agree on its future.

The council failed on Friday to renew the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (Minurso) after Russia vetoed a US-backed proposal. A rival Russian draft to extend the mission also failed to secure enough votes.

The decision raises questions about the future of Africa's longest territorial dispute and the fragile ceasefire between Morocco, which claims Western Sahara, and the Polisario Front which has been fighting for the territory's independence for more than 50 years.

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