Polisario leadership exploits Sahara issue to gather wealth, former Polisario official

The leadership of the Polisario secessionist group are using the Sahara issue to obtain from Spain and the European Union (EU) aid that they are embezzling at the detriment of the people who should benefit from it, said Kaltoum Khayat, former Polisario official.

Only a small share of the humanitarian aid destined to these populations actually reaches the Tindouf camps, Khayat told Spanish daily La Razon in an interview published on Sunday.

As soon as it is unloaded in the Algerian port of Oran, aid is either sold, given to the local Mafia or channeled to Mauritania where it is sold in the local markets, she explained, adding that such practices have been going on for years.

The Spanish public opinion should understand that it "is nourishing warlords," she went on, adding that this aid cannot last forever because it maintains a problem that only benefits the Polisario leadership.

Polisario pretends that the number of populations in Tindouf camps is 165,000 whereas their real number is ranging from 40,000 to 48,000 people, she revealed. "Some NGOs who were warned against embezzlement and corruption currently escort aid convoys to the camps where the sequestered populations live," she added.

The real support that can be given to Sahrawi children (.) is allowing them to return to their homeland where their families live, said former Polisario official who recounted that she left the Polisario to go back to Morocco that is "historically my country."

According to her, Algeria continues to extend political and diplomatic support to the Polisario and it privileges certain tribes, which is likely to lead to a civil war in the region.

A possible tribal war may affect Spain, she warned, insisting that the European country should play a role in the region to "secure stability and peace as well as its own interests."