United States, UK, Spain warn their citizens against any travel to Algeria, of terror risks in Tindouf
The United States, the United Kingdom and Spain have issued security alerts, warning their citizens residing in or visiting Algeria against any travel to the city of Tindouf or the surrounding Polisario-controlled camps. The travel warnings came amid ongoing demonstrations organized by young Sahrawis in the city and its surroundings against the Polisario and Algerian authorities.
The alert is issued by the State Department and posted on the website of the U.S. Embassy in Algeria.
American citizens residing or visiting Algeria are cautioned against traveling to the city of Tindouf in Algeria or the Sahrawi camps located there, the US State Department said in the alert posted on the website of the U.S. Embassy in Algeria.
The increased risk of kidnapping in a context of high tensions in these areas is cited as the reason behind the warning.
The U.S. diplomacy urges American citizens to avoid any travel to this area, at least until mid-March, recommending those already present to exercise utmost vigilance and advising them to stay alert in places frequented by tourists or Westerners.
American citizens are also urged to make contingency plans to leave and to constantly review their personal security plans. This includes having up-to-date travel documents for potential evacuation, as well as appropriate identification, namely a valid U.S. passport and a valid visa.
The British Foreign Office on its part renewed its warnings to British citizens wishing to travel to Algeria, saying: “Terrorists are likely to attempt attacks in Algeria, including kidnapping operations.
“There is also a risk of individual actors targeting foreigners,” the Foreign Office said.
The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs also posted a warning on its official website calling on Spanish citizens to avoid traveling to the Tindouf camps area in Algerian territory.
The warning cited a “terrorist threat against Spanish citizens in the area of the Sahrawi camps” due to “increased instability in northern Mali and ensuing heightened activity by terrorist groups in the region.” The alert recommends Spanish citizens to avoid travel to the camps and leave the area if they are already there.
This warning comes as the Polisario separatist front and its Algerian sponsor prepare to organize the so-called “Sahara marathon” in Tindouf, on February 28. The warning comes especially at a time when the Tindouf camps and the eponymous city are witnessing daily demonstrations and protests against the leadership of the Polisario and, among other things, the Algerian justice system.
Since Sunday, February 11, young people from the Rguibat Souaâd tribe have been leading a widespread protest movement, marked by acts of violence, to challenge the conviction of one of their own by the Algerian court in Tindouf.
Ahmed Ould Ben Ali, one of the thousands of disenchanted youths in the Tindouf camps, was sentenced to 5 years in prison by the Algerian court on charges of drug trafficking.
The Algerian Court prison sentence provoked violent protests that took aim at Algerian authorities and their Polisario proxies in the Tindouf camps. The protesters burned tires and blocked 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.
