A military delegation from the US embassy visited Laayoune this week, described as «part of a routine visit», according to a Moroccan source close to the matter who spoke to Yabiladi. During their time in the city, «the three Americans held talks with the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Western Sahara and head of MINURSO, the Russian Alexander Ivanko, and General Fakhrul Ahsan of Bangladesh, commander of MINURSO's blue helmets». The delegation also conducted an aerial survey, flying by helicopter to the UN mission's Team Sites in the Sahara, located west of the Mur des Sables», the same source added. The timing of the US military visit coincided with Donald Trump's official return to the White House and Marco Rubio's inauguration as head of the State Department. The visits by diplomatic delegations accredited to Morocco aim to update data on developments in the Sahara, especially following the Polisario's withdrawal on November 13, 2020, from the ceasefire signed in 1991 under the aegis of the United Nations. It is noteworthy that a French military mission also visited Laayoune in October 2023.
