Deaths and disappearances of Saharawis in Western Sahara
12 November 2010
Last Monday, Moroccan security forces dismantled Gdeim Izik, a Saharawi protest camp in the occupied territories of Western Sahara. Thousands of Saharawi fled to the capital, El Aaiún, based 15 kilometers from the camp.
According to some reports, at least 10 Saharawi were killed and over 700 injured by Moroccan security personnel who raided the camp. Over 150 people have been reported missing. The Moroccan government stated that three security officials were killed.
Over 20,000 Saharawis were living in Gdemim Izik to protest against discrimination by Moroccan authorities and for an end to the Occupation of Western Sahara. Morocco's crackdown of Gdeim Izik happened just hours before the reopening of informal talks at the UN between Morocco and the Polisario Front, a Saharawi liberation movement.
The Saharawis who left the camp for El Aaiún now face violent repression from Moroccan security forces stationed in the capital. Many unidentified bodies, including those of women and young children, are being found in El Aaiún. According to Saharawi Foreign Minister Mohamed Uld Salek, in Saharawi neighbourhoods in the capital "bodies are turning up with cut throats and bullet wounds." Thawra, a coalition of human rights defenders, suggested that the death toll may reach one hundred. Saharawi-owned shops are being ransacked and cars are being torched.
Moroccan riot police have prevented the international press from entering El Aaiún, and the government has expelled all foreign journalists from the country. Meanwhile, the Moroccan state media is downplaying the level of unrest. Images of calm in El Aaiún and the camp are being transmitted via national media channels. However, footage from mobile phones and testimony from Saharawis tell a story of police brutality and violence.
War on Want strongly condemns the attack on the Gdeim Izik protest camp and urges the international community to carry on an investigation on the murders, disappearances and human rights violations. Tomorrow War on Want will take part in a demonstration outside of Morocco's London Embassy to express solidarity with the Saharawi people.
Image by Thawra
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