Mauritania unsettled by Polisario militias at the Algerian border
A recent report has raised concerns over the militarization in the Polisario-run Tindouf camps in southwestern Algeria, according to the North Africa Post on July 7th. It accuses both Algiers and the Polisario of destabilizing acts targeting Mauritanian territory.
The Dakhla refugee camp in the Tindouf province of Algeria is being used as a logistical hub for Polisario military operations, a report published July 6th on Le360 said.
The camp is part of a multitude of Tindouf refugee camps and its proximity to the Mauritanian border has allowed for increased infiltration and destabilizing activities in the region, including trafficking in connivance with terrorist groups acting in the wider Sahel.
The refugee camps have been cited in reports of human rights abuses, and accounts of alleged extrajudicial killings taking place were highlighted by the UN last month.
Following an alleged Polisario incursion in May this year, Mauritania determined to strengthen its borders. Now, Mauritania has closed a key border crossing near the camp, disrupting supply routes used by the Polisario and signalling a shift from its traditionally neutral stance.
The move is seen as a direct response to growing security concerns and a desire to distance itself from Algeria’s regional manoeuvres.
The report also alleges that the corridor between Tindouf and the buffer zone in the Sahara territory is being used to smuggle weapons, some of Iranian origin, into Polisario-controlled areas.
These activities are said to bypass the oversight of the United Nations Mission in the Sahara (MINURSO), which has faced disruptions by the Polisario in carrying out its ceasefire mission.
This recent series of altercations with the Algeria-sponsored Polisario brings a feeling of a déjà vu for Mauritanian authorities. With Algiers military backing, Mauritania had suffered attacks in the 1970s and 1980s by the Polisario Front, waged from its rear base in Tindouf.
The North Africa Post, Le360, Maghrebi.org
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