The population of the Tindouf camps finds itself trapped between the hammer of the blockade imposed by Algeria and the anvil of the lawlessness of criminal groups operating with impunity. This Saturday, the “Laayoune camp” became the scene of armed clashes between two drug trafficking gangs. The intensity of the gunfire, which lasted for several hours, forced residents to take shelter in their homes, according to the Forum for the Support of Autonomists of Tindouf (FORSATIN).
This latest episode of security chaos unfolded “in the complete absence of the Polisario Front’s police and gendarmerie, and with the indifference of the Algerian army, which remains stationed just a few meters outside the perimeter of the Laayoune camp,” FORSATIN lamented.
The Polisario militia eventually responded to residents’ calls for help, but only after the traffickers had fled, leaving behind a terrified population.
The day before, the “Laayoune camp” had also been home to a major protest against the blockade imposed by the Algerian army. Hundreds of Sahrawis, forced to wait for hours under a scorching sun for exit permits issued by the Algerians, staged a sit-in in front of the Algerian army checkpoint. Soldiers fired shots into the air to disperse the demonstrators.
