Rabat – The incidents of Gdim Izik, which took place in November 2010, resulted in the deaths of 11 members of Morocco’s security forces.
The reverberations of the incidents are still felt, especially by the families of the victims, who are waiting for justice to take its course and for the suspect to pay for the crimes they are believed to have committed.
While the incidents were criminal, supporters of the Polisario have been trying to give them a political connotation. Yet what Polisario supporters have overlooked is that there are countless videos that have documented the incidents as they occurred.
A 12-minute video shows the tragedy of the Gdim Izik camp, where a group of separatists killed law enforcement officers while they were performing their duties.
After a group of Sahrawis set up tents on the outskirts of Laayoune to protest unemployment and lack of opportunities in the city, government authorities intervened, urging them to leave the camp.
Following a string of unsuccessful discussions with the protesters, Moroccan authorities decided to move to the camp on November 8, intent on dismantling it peacefully in an attempt to impose respect for the law and for the preservation of public order.
A group of the camp’s inhabitants began leaving the camp voluntarily aboard the coaches provided by the Office Chérifien des Phosphates (OCP). Meanwhile, another group including Polisario extremists raised their objections to the evacuation of the camp by causing disturbance among the authorities and the inhabitants.
The Polisario members resorted to violence, and paramilitary militia assaulted the security officers with stones, bottles of gas, knives, swords, and incendiary bottles.
The same group continued its attack by lynching and harassing the government forces, who were dismantling vacant tents.
Upon their return to Laayoune, the same militia continued their attacks, slaughtering officers and desecrating their remains.
The brutal reaction of this group resulted in the deaths of 10 law enforcement officers, and a firefighter. Seventy people were injured and public property suffered damage.
In December, the Criminal Chamber of the annex of Salé’s Appeals Court decided to postpone the Gdim Izik case hearing until January 23, 2017.
The hearing was delayed to allow the defense time to prepare its case and to summon an involved individual who was released on bail. It also afforded time to consider a petition relating to the right of the victims’ families to constitute a civil party.
