Angry youth call for uprising against Polisario in Tindouf camps

Angry youth in Tindouf camps (south-western Algeria) distributed Saturday leaflets calling inhabitants to revolt against the blockade imposed on Sahrawi populations by the Polisario Front, said eyewitnesses.

Thousands of Sahrawis are sequestered in the camps by the Polisario Front, an Algeria-backed guerrilla movement claiming the separation of Morocco's southern provinces (known as the Sahara). The camps have recently witnessed a series of protests against the poor living conditions and the persisting blockade.

The separatists' leaders called on soldiers to join their units and military centers, noted the same source, underlining, however, that soldiers refused to obey orders knowing they will have to repress demonstrations similar to those of 1988.

Polisario leaders cut Saturday some telephone lines to prevent that information on the demonstrations be leaked to the media.

The return last week of former Polisario top official, Hammati Rabbani, to Morocco has created a crisis inside the Polisario leadership.

On Saturday, the commanders of four military zones in Tindouf rebelled against the defense minister of Polisario's self-proclaimed Sahrawi republic 'SADR', sparking off further tension.

The military officers called for the resignation of Ould Bouhali whom they accused of corruption and theft and of gathering wealth to the detriment of the well-being of the populations forcibly held in Tindouf camps.

The mediation between the four commanders and the defense Minister has failed, heralding an imminent explosion of the situation within the Polisario leadership.