Rabat – Videos are going viral online of ongoing unrest and the use of live ammunition in the Tindouf camps, with mounting concerns about the situation of Sahrawi women and children stranded in the increasingly deserted Polisario-run camps.
One of the viral videos shows an armed man using a rifle-like gun and shooting from a building’s roof.
The Forum for the Autonomists of Tindouf (FORSATIN) reported on the unrest last week, noting that the camps witnessed incursions by a group of “thugs and criminals affiliated with one of the drug trafficking gangs.”
Panic and terror
The group had launched an attack on members of a rival gang as part of a “violent score-settling operation,” the source said, noting that the camps turned into a battlefield using live ammunition in residential areas.
“This caused panic and terror among residents, forcing them to hide and barricade themselves in their shelters for hours while armed gangs roamed freely and exchanged gunfire in broad daylight,” FORSATIN reported.
The Algerian army remained silently stationed just meters outside the camp, FORSATIN said, noting that the Algerian regime only exerted force on “innocent travelers and those moving in and out of the camp.”
Tribal elders in the camps voiced concerns and protests against the gangs and accused the Polisario leadership of turning a blind eye to the alarming development.
“The goal, they argue, is to intimidate the population and force them into submission, reducing their demands to basic security needs, and distracting them from voicing political opposition or protesting against the Algerian army and the Polisario gang,” the same source added.
Polisario’s deepening legitimacy crisis
The chaotic scenes in the camps come as Polisario is facing backlash due to the escape of its members to Morocco.
Three members of the separatist group fled to Morocco in April, waving a white peace flag to return to the North African country.
The escape of the three Polisario members also came amid wide frustration as the Algerian regime killed civilians in the Tindouf camps, sparking uproar and concerns among Saharawis.
Videos online showed porters angrily demonstrating against the deadly attack, threatening to move to Morocco.
“Do you want us to go to Morocco?… You’re killing our children here in cold blood,” a civilian is heard crying out to Algerian soldiers. An Algerian soldier is then heard telling him, “Go!”
In April, reports also conveyed the population backlash and frustration across the camps after the Algerian regime attempted to kill two young Saharawis. The Algerian army opened fire at the young men.
“One of the soldiers ordered them to stop, but the driver panicked, recalling what had happened in the ‘Dakhla camp,’ where the Algerian army mercilessly killed two young men,” FORSATIN said last month.
Algeria consistently refused demands for a general census in the camps. Former members of the Polisario leadership have suggested that this refusal stems from concerns that only 20% of the population in Tindouf are Sahrawis, while the rest come from other tribes, including Algeria.
The refusal to carry out an official census comes as Sahrawis in the camps face inhumane conditions, including food and aid shortages linked to ongoing embezzlement of funds and aid directed to the population.
The dire situation has been long confirmed by the UN Secretary General, who warned against the conditions under which Sahrawis live, and malnutrition that expands anemia and other diseases among children and women.
Another evidence is the latest appeal by the UNHCR, which called for increased support to Sahrawis.
A UNHCR Representative in Algeria echoed the appeal on Tuesday, stressing that the UN body needs $100 million per year to provide “adequate assistance to Sahrawi refugees.”
With the latest videos documenting the unrest and clashes between gangs, it is expected that demands to designate the Polisario Front as a terrorist group will increase.
Many high-profile politicians have been shedding light on how the Tindouf camps serve as a fertile ground for drug trafficking and terrorism related crimes.
