In launching attacks on Moroccan forces, the Polisario Front independence movement ended a three-decade ceasefire. The attacks follow a military operation by Rabat in the UN buffer zone intended to remove Sahrawi activists who had allegedly set up a roadblock. Crisis Group expert Riccardo Fabiani warns that the risk of a military escalation in Western Sahara is growing. Since the May 2019 resignation of the UN special envoy for Western Sahara, who oversaw two rounds of talks, the peace process has been stalled, and after the latest events the prospect of a lasting resolution appears to have reached a new low.