The Japanese Public Security Agency has classified the Polisario Front as a terrorist organization linked to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, according to a multilingual news platform in Japan. The article pointed out that the agency’s international terrorism guidelines from 2013 and 2014 categorized the Polisario as a group associated with terrorist organizations in the region.
American and Syrian media have revealed the involvement of Polisario fighters in the repression carried out by Bashar Al-Assad’s regime against the Syrian people, in collaboration with Iran. These incidents have revived the Japanese authorities’ classification of the front as a group affiliated with Al-Qaeda.
An investigation published by the Washington Post on April 12 revealed that hundreds of Polisario fighters were detained in Syria. The report clarified that Iran armed and trained them to carry out operations aligned with its interests and those of the former Syrian regime, relying on regional and European security sources.
The report indicated that among the detainees was a general from the Algerian army, alongside more than 500 Algerian soldiers and Polisario fighters. It also disclosed that Iran sought to compensate for its strategic losses in the region by recruiting new allies in North Africa, using the Polisario as a model for its armed proxies, similar to its militias in Syria and Iraq.
Algeria, for its part, continues to provide comprehensive financial, logistical, and diplomatic support to the Polisario with the aim of establishing what is referred to as the “Sahrawi Republic,” while countries like France, Spain, and the United States support Morocco’s autonomy initiative as a solution to the conflict.
The American newspaper’s report stated that the fall of Assad and the assumption of new authorities in Syria led to the dismantling of Iran’s traditional influence network, which relied on arms smuggling and financial support to its regional allies.
Analysts believe that these new findings regarding the Polisario’s involvement in armed activities supported by Iran open the door for the reclassification of the front as a terrorist organization, especially with the rising calls within the U.S. Congress, led by figures such as Joe Wilson, to expedite this process.
Media reports have also supported Moroccan intelligence revelations about the Iranian embassy in Algeria’s involvement in training and arming Polisario fighters under direct supervision from Hezbollah operatives.
The report asserted that these details bolster Western demands for designating the Polisario as a terrorist group, particularly after its links with groups such as Al-Qaeda and Boko Haram were observed, along with receiving training from Hezbollah funded by Iran.
The report further noted that Polisario leaders are investing suspicious funds in real estate and business projects in Caribbean countries, with speculations that these funds stem from drug trafficking and Algerian oil revenues, as well as the recently uncovered activities of Captagon factories in Syria.
The Washington Post concluded that the U.S. designation of the Polisario as a terrorist organization has become a matter of time, considering it a necessary step aligned with the severity of the front’s role in disrupting development and undermining stability in North Africa.
