Algerian verdict triggers violent protests in Polisario-run Tindouf camps

An Algerian prison sentence against a member of the Rguibat tribe provoked violent protests that took aim at the Polisario leadership in the Tindouf camps.

Ahmed Ould Ben Ali, one of the thousands of disenchanted youths in Tindouf camps, was sentenced to 5 years in prison by the Algerian court on charges of drug trafficking.

The sentence led many youths from his tribe to organize protests against Algerian authorities and their Polisario proxies, burning tires and blocking a key road.

They also attacked Polisario administrative facilities including the general secretariat and the headquarters of the so-called intelligence service of the separatist militia.

The obstinacy of Algeria in perpetuating the conflict over the Sahara by arming and pulling the strings of the Polisario has started the backfire with scores of Tindouf camp youths seeking to join drug traffickers or even terrorist groups as was the case with former camp dweller Abu Walid Sahrawi, former head of ISIS branch in the greater Sahara.

The situation is expected to worsen with the current Polisario leadership crackdown on dissident voices including those who call for compromise and back Morocco’s autonomy plan.

Rights groups had repeatedly warned of the degradation of living conditions in the Tindouf camps and the UN urged Algeria to allow a census of the camps’ population.