Wire reporting: (AP, via NPR), (Reuters, via Nation Africa)

Morocco’s royal palace said Wednesday that Rabat would keep its commitment to the Western Sahara ceasefire after the U.N. peacekeeping mission there ended, following a Security Council deadlock last week¹.

The palace statement came after a meeting chaired by King Mohammed VI with the prime minister, a royal adviser and the army chief, according to Reuters¹. The U.N. Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara, known as MINURSO, was set up in 1991 to monitor a ceasefire and prepare a vote on the territory’s future that was never held^2,4,6.

U.N. spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said Nov. 1 marked the start of a liquidation period, with a smaller Department of Operational Support team overseeing the return of equipment and personnel^2,4,5. The National reported that about 160 military observers and 180 civilian and affiliated staff were to leave and about 13 bases and team sites were to close⁵.

On Oct. 30, Russia vetoed a U.S. draft that had 11 votes and would have extended the mission while placing Morocco’s autonomy plan at the center of talks; Washington then blocked a Russian text that would have renewed the mission on prior terms^2,4,6. The Rio Times said the Russian draft received three votes, short of the nine needed⁶.

Morocco welcomed the non-renewal and has argued the mission had become an instrument to keep the dispute on the Council’s agenda^1,4,7. Algeria’s foreign ministry expressed deep regret and criticized what it called excessive U.S. bias toward Morocco, while the Polisario Front said it was concerned at the Council deadlock^4,8,10.

Secretary-General António Guterres said he remained concerned about the security situation and the risk of hostilities escalating, and called on all sides to exercise maximum restraint^2,4. The U.N. still classifies Western Sahara as a non-self-governing territory; Morocco administers most urban centers and the coast, and the Algeria-backed Polisario Front seeks an independent Sahrawi state^2,4,9.

The Polisario said in 2020 that it had resumed armed struggle after clashes around a border crossing with Mauritania; the U.N. has described subsequent fighting as low intensity^1,7. Guterres said the United Nations remained ready to support dialogue through personal envoy Staffan de Mistura^2,4,6.

Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita told Moroccan state media that Rabat’s next step would be to take Western Sahara off the U.N. decolonization committee, a claim not independently confirmed in the coverage^1,5. Whether the ceasefire holds without monitors, and how Algeria and the Polisario respond on the ground, is not yet established^4,6.