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Marrakech – Catastrophic malnutrition rates now plague the Polisario-run, Algerian-controlled Tindouf camps, according to a new UN investigation. The findings reveal the brutal reality faced by thousands of Sahrawis held hostage in these desolate compounds on Algerian territory.
The UN report, released June 25, documents that Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) has reached 13.6% – the highest level since 2010 and classified as “critical” by World Health Organization (WHO) standards. This humanitarian disaster directly threatens the lives of captives, particularly children under five years old and women.
University College London conducted the investigation with support from CISP, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the World Food Programme, and the Algerian Red Crescent, discovering horrific conditions kept from international scrutiny.
One in three children suffers from stunting due to chronic malnutrition while 65% of children and 69% of women show anemia cases. A mere 25% of households receive minimally acceptable nutrition.
“The nutritional situation has never been this critical in over ten years. We face a real humanitarian emergency,” admitted Savina Ammassari, UN Resident Coordinator in Algeria. “Only an immediate and collective response from the international community can prevent irreversible consequences.”
This further confirms what Morocco has long asserted about the inhumane conditions in these camps.
The crisis worsens as funds for the “Sahrawi Refugee Response Plan” have dwindled, with only 34% of the needed $103.9 million secured.
This financial shortage reflects the waning international support for the Polisario’s separatist agenda while Morocco’s sovereignty over its Saharan provinces gains increasing global recognition.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres previously noted the dire situation in his October 2024 report, citing that “rising food prices” combined with “extreme environmental conditions and limited economic opportunities” have left captives “malnourished and highly vulnerable.”
The UN Food Security Assessment concluded that over 80% of camp inhabitants depend entirely on humanitarian aid – aid that numerous reports confirm is systematically embezzled by Polisario leadership.
This nutritional catastrophe occurs amid mounting evidence of severe human rights abuses. Last March, multiple NGOs testified at the 58th UN Human Rights Council session about the Polisario’s regime, including kidnappings, torture chambers, child exploitation, and cold-blooded extrajudicial executions.
The geographical isolation of these camps shields these atrocities from international monitoring.
Former detainee El Fadel Braika described the “inhumane conditions” in the camps, including forced disappearances and the exploitation of child soldiers. Other organizations condemned the Polisario’s use of programs like “Vacations in Peace” as “a cover for child trafficking.”
Harrowing conditions
The Sahrawi Movement for Peace (MSP) in April thundered against the Algerian regime following the cold-blooded murder of two young Sahrawis by Algerian soldiers in the Dajla refugee camp, 160 kilometers east of Tindouf.
In an urgent communiqué addressed to the United Nations and MINURSO, the MSP condemned the “flagrant violations of the most fundamental human rights” that “can no longer be ignored.”
This savage killing adds to a bloody series of assaults where the Algerian military systematically targets defenseless Sahrawis. Mere days before the April incident, Algerian troops gunned down Sid Ahmed Belali and wounded nine others near the Gara Djebilet mine, leaving three clinging to life in critical condition.
At the time, video footage captured desperate hostages confronting their oppressors, threatening to escape to their homeland Morocco while telling Algerian soldiers: “You’re killing our children here in cold blood.”
These harrowing conditions explain why countless captives risk their lives to flee back to Morocco, their true homeland.
While the fictional “SADR” entity exists only within these isolated Algerian camps, the actual Western Sahara territories remain fully integrated into Morocco’s sovereignty with development under Rabat’s leadership.
The stark contrast is unmistakable: while Morocco invests billions in developing its southern provinces, Polisario leaders divert humanitarian aid to purchase weapons and maintain their lifestyles, as documented by the European Anti-Fraud Office’s 2015 report on systematic aid embezzlement.
As world powers increasingly support Morocco’s Autonomy Plan as “the only viable path to a lasting and politically feasible resolution,” this latest UN report further exposes the true humanitarian catastrophe perpetuated by the Polisario separatists and their Algerian backers.
