UN peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara loses its mandate after US-Russia veto standoff

The UN Security Council failed to renew the 35-year-old MINURSO mission after the US and Russia vetoed each other's draft resolutions: Washington's text would have centred Morocco's autonomy plan and scaled back the mission, Moscow's a plain one-year renewal. Russia's envoy called the US veto the political murder of the mission, while Morocco's royal palace said UN personnel and equipment should leave the territory within days. The standoff leaves ceasefire monitoring and mine clearance in Western Sahara without a clear legal basis.

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