The Polisario Front has announced the death of Lahbib Mohamed Abdelaziz, son of one of the founders of the mouvement and a member of its national secretariat.
The Sahrawi organizatoin have issued a statement in which they do not specify the circumstances of the death nor detail the identity of two more people, who according to the organization also lost their lives in an attack attributed to Morocco, which has not yet confirmed the military operation.
East of the Sahara and within the framework of the historical conflict between Morocco and the Western Sahara, the situation has been particularly tense since 2020, when Moroccan troops entered the Guerguerat demilitarized zone, which separates Mauritania from the Western Sahara, to dislodge a protest by Sahrawi activists who were blocking the only road connecting Morocco with sub-Saharan countries. The Polisario Front considered that the action constituted a breach of the ceasefire agreement signed with the UN’s backing in 1991, and this episode triggered military actions by both sides.