RABAT - Morocco's director of national heritage blamed UN peacekeeping forces Thursday for vandalising prehistoric sites in the Western Sahara while patrolling the demilitarised zone.
UN peacekeepers monitor a truce along a defence wall in the Sahara constructed by Morocco following a UN-brokered peace deal in 1991 between Morocco and the Polisario independence front.
"We condemn these acts committed in the demilitarised zone," Abdallah Salih said.
According to him there have been two types of vandalism carried out by UN forces - low-level, such as graffiti scribbled on ancient rocks, and "deliberate vandalism", such as the theft of cave paintings, desecration of graves, and the removal of engraved paving stones.
"It all depends on the military ethos: if the officer in charge is aware of world heritage, he will not allow these sorts of things to happen," Salih said.
Salih added that he had tried to bring his concerns to the attention of the Moroccan army, but had not direct contact with the UN mission (MINURSO).
MINURSO said in a statement that "information from some of the sites suggests that some of the graffiti may have been done by MINURSO military personnel."
"Other graffiti, indeed an equally large number of it, indicates it was done by other unknown persons over the years."
MINURSO said members of Polisario had reported vandalism in the middle of last year and since then "measures have been taken to stop it and an enquiry has been opened."
Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony, was annexed by Morocco in 1975. The Polisario front, backed by Algeria, has demanded independence for the territory.
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