Sahara issue: Algerian General calls for settlement through large autonomy

Former head of the Algerian army's general staff, General Khalid Nezzar, called for the settlement of the Sahara issue through "some kind of large autonomy," stressing that the plan of the former UN Secretary General's special envoy, James Baker, is now "outdated."

In a press briefing he gave on the launch of his book on the Algeria war, Nezzar proposed solution to the Sahara issue "that would not lead to the Moroccan Sahara's independence."

The Sahara conflict is opposing Morocco to the Algeria-backed Polisario separatists, who are claiming secession of its southern provinces, known as Western Sahara. This former Spanish colony was retrieved by the Kingdom in 1975 under the Madrid accord.

General Nezzar also said "the conflict must be settled, otherwise, the Maghreb Union can not be built."

According to the BBC, the top officer refused to describe as "occupation" Morocco's retrieval of its southern provinces, at the contrary of what has been said by Algerian President, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, in a memorandum presented to the UN Secretary General.

The Sahara conflict is opposing Morocco's to the Algeria-backed separatists who claim the secession of Morocco's southern provinces, known as the Sahara. This former Spanish colony was retrieved by the Kingdom in 1975 under the Madrid accord, signed with Mauritania and the former colonial power.