UN envoy meets Polisario Front representatives in Algeria

The UN envoy to Western Sahara met on Saturday with representatives of the Polisario Front in Algeria.

Algerian-backed Polisario Front wants an independent state in the Western Sahara region, rich in minerals, which Morocco claims as part of its own territory.

Staffan de Mistura met with the Polisario Front's main negotiator and the movement's permanent representative at the UN.

"We are committed to just and continuous peace, a complete commitment, which we have proven during the past pacts. We have at the same time a strong will to continue to defend our non-negotiable rights with all legitimate means" said Sidi Mohamed Omar, representative of the Polisario at the United Nations.

The Italian-Swedish diplomat also visited a refugee camp and spoke to a Sahrawi youth and women group.

"We carried a message from Sahrawi women in the occupied territories, who ask the representative to come and visit to see the reality of the situation," said Chaba Sini, General Secretary of the Women's Union.

The meeting took place in Tindouf, where the Polisario Front is based in far southwestern Algeria near the borders with Morocco and Western Sahara.