TINDOUF, JANUARY JANUARY 17 – Italian diplomat Staffan de Mistura, the UN Secretary General Personal Envoy for Western Sahara, is visiting the region for the first time since his appointment. De Mistura met with Moroccan officials in Rabat and Fronte POLISARIO officials in Tindouf/Rabouni along with the coordinator with MINURSO, Mr. Sidi Mohamed Omar. Today, he is in Nouakchott, where he will meet with Mauritanian officials and, later this week, he is due to travel to Algiers to meet with Algerian officials.
A large crowd present in Tindouf when the Personal Envoy visited the camp, the UN spokeperson Stephane Dujarric said diuriong the daily briefing in New York: “He did not see everyone but certainly did not identify any child soldier, as reported by some”, Dujarric added. Several viral photos and videos depicting children wearing military uniforms were posted online during de Mistura’s visit, allegedly demonstrating Polisario’s continued militarization of children in blatant disregard for UN conventions on the right of the child. (@OnuItalia)
