Fórum Canario Saharaui denounces Algerian army attack on Tindouf residents
In view of the different information that has occurred in recent days related to the problems of Western Sahara in its different aspects, the Fórum Canario Saharaui would like to state the following in this communiqué:
On 30 March last, Saharawi gold diggers living in the refugee camps were attacked by a patrol of the Algerian army. These events came to light two days later, as denounced by the Saharawi Association for the Defence of Human Rights (ASADEHD) and reported by various media. The events took place near the Dakhla (Tindouf) camp, south of the Algerian town of Uinet Bellakraa.
It seems that the gold diggers were surprised by the patrol, at which point they were machine-gunned as they tried to flee unarmed, leaving three people wounded of varying degrees of seriousness. The most seriously wounded is Fadili Bahi, currently in hospital in Tindouf.
It should be noted that this is not the first episode of similar magnitude since, last October, as denounced by this Forum, two young Saharawi were killed by Algerian troops after they set fire to the cabin where they were hiding after being discovered also looking for gold.
In this regard, we wish to express our repulsion and condemnation of such execrable and repetitive acts, wishing a speedy recovery to the wounded, and holding the Algerian authorities responsible for these atrocities and others of similar caliber, perpetrated against the Saharawi population. All this, of course, with the connivance of its friend and ally the Polisario Front, which is more concerned with its chumminess with the Algerian authorities than with remaining vigilant and vigilant in defending its own population.
Also, according to various sources, this weekend a mob belonging to the Erguibat tribe, a fraction of Lebuehat (El Boihat according to Spanish nomenclature), stormed the police post in the wilaya of Smara, in the Sahrawi camps in Tindouf, to free a member of their tribal family who had previously been arrested for drug trafficking.
During the raid, not only were the police officers subdued and wounded and the alleged trafficker released, but one of the officers was seriously injured. Although the police were overwhelmed, moments later it was the gendarmerie that defused the situation by releasing the detained policemen. However, these events are extremely serious, especially as the detainee is a relative of the Polisario Minister of the Interior, Mustafa Mohamed Ali Sidi Bachir, and the assailants are members of the same tribe.
It is totally unacceptable that this kind of events take place in which the Polisario officials conspire from their privileged positions to transgress the rules and endanger their own security forces, not only by allowing the release of this delinquent relative, but also by the aggravating circumstance of violence and impunity with which it has taken place. We therefore also denounce and condemn these events, calling for appropriate measures to be taken, which must undoubtedly include the removal from office of the most visible figure linked to the events, the aforementioned Ali Sidi Bachir.
In this sense, in the heat of these events, we witness once again the failure of the so-called egalitarian society advocated by the Polisario since its origins, to the detriment of tribal inequalities and the favourable treatment and privileges of some over others, with the complicity of the leaders of the Polisario Front.
Likewise, we recall the constant threat posed by the Polisario Front to the region, especially because of the ease with which it interacts from Tindouf with the criminal networks that, through the permeable borders of the Sahel, are at ease. Mainly those involved in arms trafficking or, as in this case, drug trafficking.
On another subject, in relation to the Polisario and its supporters, in this case in Spain, we welcome and celebrate the recent arrest of an individual in the town of Basauri (Vizcaya), for his involvement in a crime of terrorist threats. The aforementioned individual encouraged terrorist and violent actions, not only against Moroccan individuals and institutions in Spain and abroad, but especially targeted all Saharawi unionists or pro-Moroccan Saharans, even claiming to be the direct perpetrator. All this with an extensive audiovisual display on social networks, haranguing and justifying the commission of such acts.
The detainee was very active on these networks, managing numerous accounts and with a large number of Spanish and foreign followers. His popularity was such that the dissemination of his publications reached more than 20,000 people. For this reason, the detainee was brought before the courts, and the court ordered him to be remanded in custody. Consequently, we congratulate the General Information Headquarters (CGI) of the National Police for their swift action, particularly the Provincial Information Brigades of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Tenerife which, under the coordination of the Prosecutor's Office of the Audiencia Nacional and the supervision of the Central Court of Instruction No. 3, participated in the operation.
The Saharawi Association for the Defence of Human Rights also denounces to the general public the savage criminal act perpetrated on 30 March 2021, by a patrol of the Algerian Army against Saharawi gold diggers in the vicinity of the Dakhla camp south of the Algerian town of Uinet Bellakraa.
The events happened according to relatives of the victims, when Saharawi gold diggers living in the Tindouf camps were surprised at midday yesterday 19 October by a patrol of the Algerian army in the vicinity of the Dakhla camp, when they tried to flee the place were strafed with live ammunition with the fateful result of 3 wounded of varying severity and their SUV completely burned.
The seriously wounded is Fadili Bahi, as mentioned above, a resident of the camps, who is currently being held in Tindouf hospital.
