Polisario military chief rejects Algerian proposal to partition Moroccan sahara

Lahbib Ayoub, a top Polisario leader and military chief, who defected the separatists' ranks and returned to Morocco, on Monday rejected a proposal made by Algeria to partition the Moroccan Sahara.

"I returned to Morocco upon a deep conviction to renew the act of allegiance and of devotedness to my King, in line with the legacy of my predecessors," Lahbib Ayoub told the press at the end of a Royal audience Monday at the royal palace of Marrakesh.

The returnee denounced the blockade imposed by the Algerian intelligence services on the population sequestered in Tindouf, south western Algeria. "The Algerian intelligence services besieged us, leaving to us no room to move and no possibility to take any decision whatsoever, he said.

Ayoub also rejected the proposal made by Algeria to partition the Moroccan Sahara. "After the announcement of the partition idea, I realized the stake of this game and that the Polisario, of which I am one of the founding fathers, is only a tool that Algeria uses to achieve its expansionist ambitions and impose its hegemony in the region," he said.

King Mohammed VI, accompanied by Prince Moulay Rachid, had earlier received Lahbib Ayoub, who paid him allegiance.

Lahbib Ayoub, alias Commandant Ayoub, returned to Morocco in response to the royal call "the homeland is clement and merciful."

Ayoub was chief strategist of the separatists' army. He was commander of one of the major "military regions" of the Polisario.

Interior minister, Driss Jettou, attended the Royal audience.