Algerian army kills Sahrawi miners near Tindouf

An Algerian air strike killed three Sahrawis from the Polisario-run camps near Tindouf as they were desperately digging for gold, a civil society Sahrawi group FORSATIN reported.

The group was seeking a source of revenue amid harsh conditions in the camps and repression by Algerian security services and the Polisario militias, said FORSATIN which backs the autonomy option under Moroccan sovereignty.

Videos shared on social media showed charred bodies next to a decimated car, while Moroccan media Yabiladi.com said the massacre was confirmed by the relatives of the deceased.

Illegal mining activities, smuggling, and recruitment by terrorist groups have surged in the camps due to the worsening situation under the yoke of the Polisario and its mentor Algeria.

Algeria has denied the population in the camps freedom of movement and continues to use them as political pawns.

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.