South Africa's Mbeki urges quick settlement of Sahara issue

South Africa's President, Thabo Mbeki urged on Friday for a quick settlement of the Sahara issue.

"We hope that the deadlocked issue of the Western Sahara, will be resolved without any further delay," said Thabo Mbeki in a speech delivered in Cape Town on Friday before the parliament, at the opening of the new legislative year.

Mbeki, who is the incumbent president of the African Union, mentioned the Sahara issue among other conflicts in the African continent. He expressed South Africa's determination to endeavor for peace, prosperity and reconciliation within the continent.

The Sahara is a former Spanish colony, retrieved by Morocco in 1975 under tripartite accords with Spain and Mauritania. An Algerian-backed separatist group, the Polisario, claims the independence of these Moroccan southern provinces.