RABAT, Morocco

Jordan opened a consulate in the disputed Western Sahara region on Thursday, according to Moroccan media reports.

The opening ceremony of the consulate in Laayoune, the largest city of Western Sahara, was attended by Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi.

Jordan became the third Arab country to open a consulate in the Sahara region after the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain.

Nineteen countries have so far opened diplomatic missions in Western Sahara -- 11 in Laayoune and eight in Dakhla, a city in the disputed region.

Morocco says Western Sahara is part of its territory, while the Polisario Front seeks to establish the region as an independent state.

The Front staged guerilla warfare against Morocco over the disputed region until the two sides signed a ceasefire agreement under UN mediation in 1991.

Since then, negotiations on the status of the region have failed to solve the conflict.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz

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