EU urged to pressure polisario to release 1,160 Moroccan prisoners

A Belgian NGO called "Citoyennete Plus" on Monday urged the European Union (EU) to pressure the Polisario to release 1,160 Moroccan prisoners, held in the secessionists' detention camps of Tindouf, South-Western Algeria.

While condemning Polisario's use of "this human tragedy as a pressure card," "Citoyennete Plus" praised the European Union's support to the liberation of all Moroccans detained in Tindouf.

Some of them are considered by the International Red Cross as the world's oldest prisoners of war.

The EU has recently urged for "the immediate" liberation of all Moroccan POWs, insisting that "a line must be drawn between the human aspects of the conflict and its political ramifications."

"Citoyennete Plus," which is a Belgian-Moroccan NGO created in 2001, is lobbying the European Commission to reflect the EU's stance by suspending its aid to Polisario until all Moroccan POWs are freed.