Morocco’s military inspector general meets MINURSO commander in Agadir, reports say

Lieutenant General Mohammed Berrid, Morocco’s military inspector general, received Major General Jawwad Ahmed, the new commander of the UN mission in Western Sahara, in Agadir on Thursday, according to North Africa Post and Hespress English. The reports placed the meeting at the Southern Zone headquarters.

Both outlets cited a statement from the General Staff of Morocco’s Royal Armed Forces. They identified Berrid as also commanding the Southern Zone and said the officials reviewed the mission’s activities. Their accounts of the meeting came from the same military statement.

According to those reports, the two officers welcomed coordination covering operations, security, demining and logistical support. That assessment was attributed to the military; the reports gave no measures of the coordination or details of particular activities discussed during the meeting.

The United Nations separately confirmed Ahmed’s appointment as force commander of MINURSO, its mission in Western Sahara. A UN Pakistan update said Secretary-General António Guterres selected the Pakistani officer to succeed Major General Md Fakhrul Ahsan of Bangladesh, whose assignment ended on 2 August 2026.

The UN appointment account credits Ahmed with more than 35 years of experience spanning leadership and operations in the Pakistan Army and service in UN peacekeeping. He takes over the military command of a mission whose stated work includes monitoring developments and promoting an end to hostilities.

MINURSO says it was created in 1991 in support of settlement proposals and a ceasefire agreed by Morocco and Frente POLISARIO. Following the resumption of hostilities in November 2020, the mission says its work includes advocating their cessation and addressing explosive hazards left by war.

The mission describes its current responsibilities as observing military activity, investigating incidents and reporting on broader developments in Western Sahara. It also monitors security conditions and undertakes mine action, making security and demining part of its work as well as subjects of the Agadir talks.

MINURSO also says it provides logistical assistance to the secretary-general’s special envoy. Logistical support was among the areas of coordination cited in the Moroccan military’s account of Thursday’s discussions.