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Rabat – The Tindouf-based Autonomy Support Forum (FORSATIN) has published a video showing rare scenes of celebrations inside the Algeria-controlled Tindouf camps following the historic adoption of a resolution that recognizes Morocco’s Autonomy Plan as a genuine political solution to end the Western Sahara dispute.
On Friday, the UN Security Council voted for Resolution 2797, which dealt a new setback for Algeria’s regime, which has been advocating for self-determination and a referendum as a solution for the regional dispute.
Instead, the resolution distances itself from Polisario’s self-determination claims, urging all political parties to engage in discussions without preconditions and with Morocco’s autonomy plan as the basis for negotiations.
The news sparked celebrations across Morocco, including southern provinces in Laayoune and Dakhla.
The news also brought a short-lived celebration within Tindouf.
Forsatin released a video that captured a rare celebration and a moment of genuine happiness among Sahrawis.
FORSATIN reported that Polisario forces quickly intervened to disperse the gatherings, imposing a curfew. It also deployed loyal separatists to stage counter-protests against the UNSC vote.
Polisario has been running the Tindouf camps under Algeria’s control and supervision. The separatist group continues to hold thousands of Sahrawis in harsh conditions. Algeria’s regime also restricts movement, disallowing Sahrawis to leave the camps.
It also consistently refused to allow a UN census of the camp populations, maintaining strict control.
This comes amid the UN’s repeated appeals, urging the Algerian regime to allow a census as the camps are witnessing catastrophic malnutrition rates.
An investigation from the UN shows that the Global Acute Malnutrition reached 13.6%, the highest level since 2010, and was classified as critical by the World Health Organization standards.
The situation directly threatens the lives of Sahrawis, especially children under five years old and women.
In his new report on Western Sahara, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has warned against the severe deterioration in the nutrition of Sahrawis living in dire and inhumane conditions in the Tindouf camps.
“These results indicate a significant deterioration compared to a 2022 survey, which recorded high levels of anaemia in both individual categories at 53.5% and 54.2%, respectively,” the UNSG report said.
