Staffers at US Congress visit Moroccan southern city

A group of staffers at the US congress, currently visiting Morocco, visited Tuesday the Moroccan southern city of Laayoune where they visited the socioeconomic projects carried out in the city.

The delegation visited an ultra-modern sea water desalination plant, the local port and industrial plants for the processing of sea products.

The group also met with local authorities who briefed them on the evolution of the Sahara issue since the territory was recovered by Morocco in 1975. They heard explanations on ongoing projects carried out by Morocco to ensure the social and economic development of the region.

A luncheon was also hosted in the presence of heads of local tribes, former members of the Algeria-backed guerrilla movement "Polisario" and observers who are participating in the identification of potential voters in the UN-projected referendum. The local dignitaries (heads of tribes) renewed before the US delegation their attachment to their Moroccan citizenship and the need that the referendum includes all the Sahara tribes.

Former members of the Polisario unveiled the harsh torture and detention conditions in the Polisario-controlled refugee camps, located in western Algeria.

Vice-chairman of the association of parents of torture victims and missing persons handed to the US congress delegation a list of all persons who died as a result of bad treatment and torture in the Polisario-controlled camps.