ELEVEN WESTERN Saharan militants died, 700 were injured and 150 are missing, according to their own sources, and at least five members of Moroccan security forces have been killed after they raided a camp near the city of El Aaiún.
Details of resultant violent clashes over the past three days have not yet been confirmed by independent sources, as Morocco refuses to allow journalists to travel to the territory.
Those booked on flights to El Aaiún from Casablanca were not allowed to board, and all roads to El Aaiún from the nearest town, Tan Tan, were closed to all except official transport.
The violence broke out when Moroccan security forces, using tear gas, batons and water cannons – and live ammunition, according to militants – invaded the Gadaym Izik camp, set up by displaced Saharan people protesting Moroccan rule. The forces were repelled by militants armed with batons, knives and Molotov cocktails in the most violent protest at Moroccan rule in the 35-year dispute over the territory.
The Western Saharan dispute is the longest-running territorial dispute in Africa. Although mostly desert, the territory is rich in phosphates used in fertilisers, it boasts valuable fishing grounds and possibly has offshore oil.
It was a Spanish colony until Spain abandoned it at a time when the country was virtually leaderless during the dying days of General Franco, who died in November 1975. It was annexed by Morocco when King Hassan II invaded in the “Green March”.
Ever since, Spaniards have felt ashamed by their treatment of their former subjects – tens of thousands of whom live as refugees in tented camps in Tindouf, close to the Algerian border.
The Polisario Front, the liberation movement which seeks full independence for Western Sahara, waged a guerilla war until a UN-brokered ceasefire came into force in 1991. They are demanding a referendum on self-determination for their people, but Morocco is only prepared to grant partial autonomy. Talks between the sides have repeatedly broken down, and the last meeting in February ended in deadlock.
The violence threatens further UN-mediated talks between negotiators for the Moroccan government and members of the Polisario Front, due to take place in New York.
Ahmed Boujari, representing the front in New York, said the raid was “a deliberate act to wreck the talks”. UN spokesman Martin Nesirky expressed regret at the incidents. He said: “It is highly unfortunate that this operation and the events preceding it have affected the atmosphere in which these talks are being held.”