Moroccan raid on Western Sahara camp killed 11: Polisario

[Alamuti Lotus]

Source: AP

ALGIERS (AFP) – A Moroccan raid to clear a camp in the Western Sahara left 11 refugees dead, the Polisario Front independence movement said Tuesday, as Moroccan authorities upped their own death toll to six.

Clashes erupted Monday when Moroccan forces broke up a camp housing thousands of refugees outside the main town of Laayoune in the former Spanish colony annexed by Rabat in 1975.

The violence coincided with the opening of UN-brokered peace talks Monday on the disputed territory.

"The heroic population of the town of Laayoune has buried its martyrs, the number of which has risen until now to 11," said a Polisario statement released in neighbouring Algeria, a host country for the movement.

"As for the injured, there are 723, and the list is not exhaustive, and those people who are missing or are being searched for by relatives is now 159, which leaves us to suppose they are among the dead."

The Polisario also claimed Moroccan forces had "ransacked hundreds of houses and stores and destroyed cars belonging to Sahrawis (refugees)."

The camp of 12,000 people was set up four weeks ago outside Laayoune, the main town in the Western Sahara. Locals said it was entirely dismantled in the raid, apparently launched because of deteriorating living conditions,

The Polisario said Monday Moroccan security forces had assaulted the camp by ground and air, using helicopters.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101109/wl_africa_afp/algeriawsaharamoroccounrestrefugees

[BlueMTexpat]

1. I am neither recommending nor unrecommending this post.

This conflict is a complicated situation all around although I abhor this particular action. As with so much of Africa, this conflict is a remnant of European colonial civilization - in this case Spain, a country that "claimed" historically Moroccan territory but, unlike the French colonizers in French-speaking North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia), did not leave a functioning infrastructure, bureaucracy or public school system behind. Since the Spanish left, it has become a bone of contention between Morocco and Algeria, primarily because of its natural resources although Algeria purports to support the independence movement.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Sahara

James Baker - of 2000 election infamy - spent a lot of time from 2000-2004 proposing a referendum for the area. Both of his proposals failed and the current King of Morocco has stated that Morocco will accept no referendum. So the conflict continues.

[bemildred]

2. I guess the King is not happy about the peace talks.

This is one of those situations where I would agree to have some "peace keepers" sent in.