Rabat – New reports have expressed concerns about the repeated and systematic kidnapping cases in the Algeria-controlled Tindouf camps.
A new report from the Sahrawi Autonomy Support Forum (FORSATIN) has condemned the kidnapping of an elderly man, who appeared in a new video calling for his son’s intervention.
FORSATIN said the man asks his son to give the gang who kidnapped him “what they want or to hand over the individuals involved in stealing their goods.”
In the video, the man said he is suffering a “slow death” for something he did not do, urging his son to intervene if he is still alive or dead.”
“This statement suggests that the elder can no longer bear the captivity and is pleading with his son, even if deceased, as a sign that he can no longer endure his abduction and is turning to the dead for help to end his suffering,” FORSATIN wrote.
The outlet further stressed how Sahrawi residents of the Polisario-run Tindouf camps are “currently in shock and disbelief” following the release of the new video, calling for urgent intervention to save his life.
FORSATIN also cited information that suggests the involvement of a prominent Polisario leader with the kidnapping gang, which led the separatist group to distance themselves from the issue.
“This has become no secret, as many Polisario leaders are involved in drug trafficking, smuggling, and employing criminals and outlaws to transport and distribute drugs while providing them full protection,” the forum added.
The camps, where the correct number of Sahrawis is unidentified due to Algeria’s refusal to allow a census, experience similar crises in their daily lives.
Many protests took place in the camps to condemn the systematic kidnapping of Sahrawis, including former leaders from the separatist group.
Some of the protests took place to lash out at the Polisario leadership for the unsolved case of Ahmed El Khalil, a Polisario member who went missing for more than 16 years under unknown circumstances.
Many Sahrawis have been condemning his disappearance without a clear response from the leadership. His family has been putting pressure on the separatist group, condemning the mysterious disappearance of their family members.
Earlier this month, a Sahrawi NGO called Promotion of Economic and Social Development shed light on the dire living conditions in the camps due to an increase in criminal acts and violence.
“Recent reports show that the geographical isolation of the camps, far from any international monitoring, contributes to aggravating these violations,” member of the NGO Fatima Ezzahrae Zouhairi said during her intervention at a recent Human Rights Council session.
The most vulnerable populations, particularly women and children, are especially exposed to physical and psychological violence, as well as inhumane living conditions, she said.
