The Western Sahara independence movement Polisario will vote on Tuesday on whether to revive its armed struggle against Morocco over the desert territory, a Polisario official said on Sunday.
International peacekeepers have watched over the resource-rich territory since 1991 when the UN brokered a ceasefire between the two sides to end a low-level guerrilla war. But Mhamed Khadad said Polisario officials who met on Saturday at a strategy conference at the Polisario-controlled outpost of Tifariti had considered a resumption of armed struggle, continued negotiations or a mix of the two.
"We had a big debate yesterday over negotiations," Khadad, a senior Polisario official who is also the conference spokesman, said by telephone from Tifariti.
"The military people said 'We can't keep negotiating idenfinitely. We need to assess the situation ... We should propose resuming armed struggle." "Others said 'No, No, we should continue negotiating because we have a third round of talks just coming up in January."