Morocco holds Algeria responsible for violations of thousands of people held by Polisario militias

Morocco alerted once again to the enduring plight of thousands of Sahraouis held against their will in the Tinfoud camps by the Polisario militias and urged Algeria to allow a head-count of this population.

Speaking to the UN General Assembly, Morocco’s Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch recalled that Algeria has defied UN Security Council resolutions urging a census of the Population in Tinfoud since 2011.

He held Algeria responsible for the human rights violations affecting thousands of people in the camps.

The General Assembly was also a chance to reaffirm Morocco’s position in favor of a lasting political solution on the basis of the autonomy plan for the Sahara conflict.

Carrying out a head-count of the population held in Tindouf will enable these people to be officially registered as refugees and enjoy the right of returning to their country Morocco unhindered.

But Algeria and its Polisario pawns reject this and insist on inflating the numbers of the people in the camps and trade in their suffering by using them as political pawns.

Algeria’s obstinacy to allow a head-count of the population of the Polisario-run camps prompted the EU to reduce aid sent to these camps in a bid to curb humanitarian aid diversion.

The decision was taken following a report by the EU anti-fraud office (OLAF) denouncing the embezzlement of humanitarian aid by the Polisario leadership and Algerian officials.

Therefore, the European Commission decided to cut aid commensurately with the estimated number of 90,000 people instead of the inflated 165,000 people put forward by the Polisario and Algeria in an attempt to sell the idea of the existence of a “Sahraoui People” with a “republic” in exile.