Here is what Morocco has to say about a dispatch published on 21 August 2015 by Agence France Press (AFP): “The facts in the dispatch are incorrect and untrue”. It is the main message of the communiqué disclosed by the Moroccan Minister of Communication, Mustapha el Khalfi.

The press article in question concerns the main separation walls in the world; the text along with a map presenting these walls. AFP included the defensive sand wall in Moroccan Sahara in the same way as the Korean wall embodying the war between the two Korea's or even the Israel/West Bank separation, symbol of the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

The communiqué signed by the Minister El Khalfi, points out that the berm “was constructed to guarantee the Moroccan right to protection and security and to fight against the use of the Sahara as a passageway for terrorist networks, drug trafficking and illegal immigration”. And the text concludes: “Thanks to this measure, Moroccan Sahara is the most secure area in the region of Greater Sahara”. The AFP dispatch is accused of containing “implied allegations”.

This Moroccan communication is evidently to be considered with regard to the conflict which opposes the Kingdom of Morocco to the Polisario Front who have proclaimed the independence of Western Sahara since 1976. Sovereignty over this territory is claimed by Morocco. Correcting the AFP dispatch Morocco writes: “the berm, as described by the UN Secretary General report of 20 October 1988, is not a separation wall. A border crossing is in effect operational and open to all populations concerned”.