Strategic Report: Strong Evidence Supports Labeling the Polisario as a Terrorist Organization
In a report published on April 18, 2025, by the Hudson Institute in the United States, researcher Zeinab Rboub calls on the U.S. administration to designate the Polisario Front as a foreign terrorist organization. The report presents documented evidence of the group’s destabilizing activities in North and West Africa and its direct threat to U.S. interests and both regional and international security.
This marks a turning point in the U.S. stance on the Moroccan Sahara issue. Rboub asserts that the U.S. recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara in 2020 under President Donald Trump was not merely symbolic but a strategic shift aligned with current geopolitical realities. Morocco has become a reliable non-NATO ally and a central partner in the fight against terrorism, extremism, and irregular migration.
The report highlights key evidence supporting the classification of the Polisario as a terrorist group: violations of the 1991 UN-brokered ceasefire, systematic diversion of humanitarian aid to support military infrastructure, ties with terrorist groups like Hezbollah and the PKK, and the receipt of drones from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard via Algeria.
It also details the smuggling of weapons to jihadist groups in the Sahel and links between Polisario leaders and extremist networks—most notably Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi, a former Polisario member turned ISIS leader responsible for a deadly attack on U.S. troops in Niger in 2017.
The report connects ongoing support for the Polisario to the Iran-Russia-China axis, via Algeria and South Africa, aiming to undermine regional stability and counter Morocco’s rising role. It concludes that U.S. hesitancy represents a strategic gap and openly recommends designating the Polisario as a terrorist organization—strengthening U.S. alliances and sending a clear message to hostile actors.
