Western Sahara: UN envoy to visit Tindouf camps

Algeria’s diplomatic relations may deteriorate further ahead of the UN Sahara Envoy’s upcoming visit to the Tindouf refugee camps, according to the pro-Moroccan North Africa Post and agencies on June 4th.

Staffan de Mistura is expected to visit Algeria’s Tindouf camps between June 6th and 7th; his visit comes after the Algerian-backed Polisario Front launched rocket attacks against Morocco’s Samara.

Polisario-controlled Tindouf camps house Sahrawi refugees who are indigenous to the Western Sahara, but have been displaced by the conflict that has persisted since Spanish colonial rule ended in 1975.

Located near the Mauritanian border, concerns about the Tindouf camps being an extremist hub have been raised; the camps have allegedly hosted Malian Tuareg separatists, Kurdish separatists and a Hezbollah delegation.

Concerns about Polisario militants at the Mauritanian border led Morocco and Mauritania to discuss defence cooperation in April.

The Polisario Front claims to fight for self-determination for the Sahrawi people; Sahrawi activists have accused Morocco of exploiting its control over Western Sahara, with the southwestern Guerguerat region called the “plunder corridor.”

Under the Moroccan Autonomy Plan, or Resolution 2797, Western Sahara would be granted limited self-governance under Moroccan sovereignty; it is supported by around 130 nations and widely perceived as a credible solution to the territorial dispute.

Algeria and its allies reject Moroccan sovereignty in favour of an independence referendum, which has been denied.

In April, de Mistura expressed optimism about resolving the conflict, praising Rabat for presenting a detailed version of Resolution 2797, providing clear institutional arrangements and implementation mechanisms in response to UN requests.

A UN delegation visited the Tindouf camps in April; the delegation was tasked with evaluating the work of MINURSO in line with Resolution 2797.

Polisario representatives have rejected MINURSO’s mandate and accuse the UN mission of being biased in favour of Moroccan interests.

Concerns about growing extremism in the Tindouf camps led Morocco to join an EU aid monitoring mechanism in January, while a US bill to designate the Polisario Front as a terrorist organisation has received bipartisan support.

These concerns are exacerbated by reports of human rights abuses taking place in the camps, including recruitment of child soldiers and extrajudicial killings.

Maghrebi attempted to contact de Mistura for comment on the upcoming Tindouf camps visit but was unable to find contact information at the time of publication.

North Africa Post and agencies, Maghrebi.org