Sahrawi NGOs denounce Algeria’s extrajudicial killings in Tindouf
A group of rights groups operating in the Sahra territory called on the international community- including the UN, the EU, human rights NGOs, to put pressure on Algeria to stop its summary executions of the Sahrawis held against their will in abject conditions in the Polisario-run Tindouf camps.
“Since 2014, at least 21 cases of extrajudicial executions or attempted executions have been recorded,” the group of Sahrawi civil society organizations said in a letter sent to the Special Procedures of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
The majority of the victims were young Sahrawis engaged in subsistence activities such as artisanal gold mining or small-scale trade, the group said.
The cases of extrajudicial killings include:
1. Khatri Hammedha Khandoud and Mohamed Aliyene Abbih – Killed on January 5, 2014, in Oudiyat Toutrate, shot while riding in a civilian vehicle.
2. Barra ould Mohamed – Died on February 28, 2017, in Oued Amhiya after being shot alongside two members of the Polisario.
3. Hafdallah Abdou Baibbout – Shot dead on the night of May 3–4, 2017, 50 km south of Dakhla camp.
4. Brahim ould Essalek – Forced to commit suicide on June 2, 2018, in Dhaibia prison after being tortured.
5. Ali Makhchouni – Shot on June 8, 2018, near Tindouf city while transporting cannabis.
6. Larabas ould Abderrahmane – Died on June 23, 2018, in Tindouf after being injured while searching for precious metals.
7. Limam ould El Ghazouani – Killed on the night of January 17–18, 2019, in Zbayra, while trafficking with the Polisario.
8. Yeslam Ahmmedha Khandoud – Killed on August 1, 2019, in Zirat while gold mining.
9. Ammahi ould Hamdi and Aliyienne Idrissi – Burned alive on October 19, 2020, in a well in Dakhla camp. This crime was the subject of a joint communication by three UN Special Procedures.
10. Mohamed ould Mahmoud Laghdaf – Died on March 4, 2021, in Tindouf hospital from injuries inflicted by the army.
11. Lakbir ould Sid Ahmed – Killed on November 20, 2021, in Sbaityenne. His companion was imprisoned.
12. Aabidate ould Blal – Killed on November 25, 2021, east of Dakhla camp.
13. Falli ould Barka – Seriously injured on the same day and at the same location.
14. Bannane ould El Houceine and a companion – Killed on October 10, 2022, after crossing military embankments.
15. Hamdi ould Berrai and El Ghilani ould Mamti – Injured on February 22–23, 2023, near Dakhla camp.
16. Said ould El Bachir – Fatally injured on March 12, 2023, in Laayoune camp. His body was found mutilated.
17. Brahim Souiah and Dahmane Eddouki – Killed on June 26, 2023, in Grart El Farsik, 60 km from Rabouni.
18. Three Sahrawi gold miners (tribe Jenha) – Shot on April 25, 2024, near the Iguidi mining site, east of Dakhla camp.
19. Majidi Adda Brahim Hmaim and El Ballal Haidasse – Killed on May 28, 2024, by a drone strike from the Algerian army. Two other Sahrawis were seriously injured.
20. Sidi Ahmed Ould Ghoulam Ould Bilali – Killed on April 9, 2025, south of the Daira of Argoub, Dakhla camp, during a pursuit by an Algerian army patrol.
21. Nagem Ould Mahmoud Ould Fendou – Killed on April 9, 2025, south of the Daira of Argoub, Dakhla camp, during a pursuit by an Algerian army patrol.
Recently three gold prospectors from the camps have been killed by Algerian cold-blooded soldiers, and nine others were injured, in a serious incident that triggered protests by the Sahrawis held hostage in the camps. Videos shared online showed relatives of the victims being violently dispersed by Algerian soldiers as they protested the extrajudicial killings.
The case is reflective of a growing despair by a disenchanted youth in the camps who have been denied the means to a dignified life. Algeria and the Polisario maintain a siege and media blackout on the camps as they continue to use Sahrawis there as a political pawns to undermine Morocco’s sovereignty.
Unable neither to return to their homeland the Sahara, in southern Morocco, nor to freely move elsewhere outside the miserable conditions in the Tindouf camps, the Sahrawis in the camps have been denied the right to be registered by the UN refugee agency.
The UN and Morocco have repeatedly called on Algeria to allow a head count of the camp’s population. The calls fell on deaf Algerian ears.
Meanwhile, the camps continue to be targeted by recruiters from terrorist organizations in full connivance of the Algerian regime and the Polisario, who have been inflating figures of the camps dwellers to get more aid which they end up embezzling.