UNSG renews call to free The Moroccans detained in Polisario Tindouf camps
Morocco-UN, Politics, 1/29/2005

UN secretary general, Kofi Annan renewed his call to free all the Moroccans the Polisario still detains in the camps in Tindouf, South-West Algeria.

In his report to the Security Council, Annan said "once again, I call on the Polisario front to free all the Moroccan prisoners," in line with international humanitarian law and all relevant resolutions.

The report recalls that Polisario announced on January 22 the liberation of two seriously sick Moroccan detainees while still detaining 410 other Moroccans.

One of the soldiers held captive for 17 years by the Polisario separatist group in Tindouf camps and repatriated last Saturday to Morocco, died Monday in the military hospital of "Avicenne" in Marrakech. Mohamed Lahmadi was seriously ill when he was repatriated by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) with another Moroccan soldier who was also in a poor health condition. The Moroccan ministry of foreign affairs and cooperation which announced the release of the two men, on Saturday, had "strongly deplored that their jailers have awaited the deterioration of their health to accept to release them." Morocco called on Thursday for the immediate release of Moroccans that are sequestered in the Polisario-controlled Tindouf camps voicing concern over their degrading conditions. On Thursday, Moroccan Communication Minister and Government Spokesman, Nabil Benabdellah, deplored in a press briefing, in Rabat, the death of Mohamed Lahmadi, a Moroccan soldier held captive in the camps for 17 years before his release last Saturday. Morocco urges the international community to help implement the UN resolutions on the release of the Moroccans who are detained in Tindouf camps, insisted Benabdellah, who was speaking following the Government Council meeting. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the United Nations Organization have repeatedly urged for the liberation of the Moroccan prisoners, some of whom have been held by the Polisario for nearly three decades. They are described by some humanitarian organizations as the longest-serving prisoners of war in the world.

The UNSG reaffirms in the report to the Security Council his readiness to work for a "political, fair, lasting and mutually acceptable solution" to the Sahara issue. The Sahara dispute opposes Morocco to the Algeria-backed Polisario group that is claiming the separation of Morocco's southern provinces (known as the Sahara), that were retrieved from the Spanish occupation in 1975 under accords with Madrid and Nouakchott.

Previous Stories:
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