CAIRO: France’s intention to use the French Development Agency (AFD) to fund projects in the disputed Sahrawi regions is a “provocative” step, Algerian state media reported on Sunday, citing a statement from Western Sahara’s Information Ministry.
Morocco considers Western Sahara its own but an Algeria-backed independence movement demands a sovereign state.
“This is a dangerous escalation of France’s hostile stance towards the Sahrawi people,” the ministry statement said, adding France’s plan “represents explicit support for Morocco’s illegal occupation of parts of Western Sahara.”
The statement came after France’s foreign trade minister, Franck Riester, visited Morocco last week. According to an article in France’s Le Monde newspaper, Riester indicated that the AFD, via its private sector financing arm Proparco, could help fund a project involving a high-voltage power line between Dakhla, Western Sahara’s capital, and the Moroccan port city of Casablanca.
“The Sahrawi government once again calls on all countries of the world and the public and private sectors to refrain from carrying out any activity of any kind in the Sahrawi national territory,” the statement from Western Sahara’s Information Ministry said.
Police initially blamed the flooding on a burst dam
There has also been infighting over how progressive its pitch should be as it seeks to woo back voters
The government of India has been very clear with us that they are taking this seriously and will investigate
Temperatures in the Philippines are forecast to reach 37 degree Celsius in the next three days
The defence minister also expressed concerns over the Afghan situation
The suspects in one of the largest criminal cases in German history had been held incommunicado until they met in the...