Over 400 Moroccan POWs captured in a war which ended 15 years ago have been released today.
Morocco is preparing to welcome home the last 404 prisoners from a war with forces from the Western Sahara. The Polisario Front independence movement are in exile in Algeria but held over 2,000 prisoners of war despite a UN-brokered ceasefire ending the conflict in 1991.
However, the Front still claims territorial rights on lands captured by the Moroccans in a bitter and little understood 16-year conflict. The Polisario were from the Saharoui - one of a number of tribes engaged in the conflict.
Over the years POWs were released as diplomatic contacts over the dispute continued. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said the release of the final group in Tindouf, Algeria, followed US mediation.
The men arriveda Moroccan military base in the city of Agadir this evening.
The release could ease tensions between Morocco and Algeria in a region where the West wants stability because of fears it could be a possible source of Islamic militancy.
The move was warmly welcomed by the Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern who said the political issues underlying the conflict should now be resolved.
"I call on all sides to build on this constructive development without further delay, with a view to the resolution of all remaining humanitarian issues in accordance with obligations set out under international humanitarian law," Mr Ahern said.
Ireland played a lead role during its presidency of the EU last year in securing the release of 100 of the prisoners.
Mr Ahern said Ireland supports self-determination for the Saharaoui people and pledged "the continued support of the European Union, and Ireland in particular" in resolving the dispute.
The Polisario said the release was intended to create an atmosphere helpful to efforts by a newly appointed UN envoy to solve the nearly 30-year-old dispute over the desert territory, mostly held by Morocco.
Algeria and Morocco have had strained relations since independence from colonial ruler France in 1962 and 1956 respectively. The Western Sahara dispute has hampered three decades of efforts to normalise ties.
The conflict was triggered by Morocco's seizure of the northwest African desert territory of about 260,000 people shortly after colonial power Spain withdrew in 1975.
The Red Cross said in a statement that the repatriation of the last Moroccan prisoners "ends a long period of internment and marks an important step in resolving the humanitarian consequences of the conflict in the Western Sahara".
However, more than 250 people on each side are still listed as missing.
Agencies