Polisario Ready to Free Kidnapped Aid Workers by Force

-
MADRID – The leader of the Polisario government of Western Sahara said on Thursday that the group is ready “to sacrifice the lives of its combatants” to liberate three European aid workers kidnapped seven months ago from a refugee camp in Algeria.

The Polisario’s intelligence indicates that Spaniards Ainhoa Fernandez de Rincon and Enric Gonyalons and Italian Rosella Urru “are alive,” Prime Minister Abdelkader Taleb Omar said at a seminar in Madrid.

He also said he was confident that negotiations to secure the captives’ release would soon bear fruit.

If not, however, the Polisario has “the determination and the will to use all efforts to liberate them safe and sound,” he said.

Taleb Omar said the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic – the Polisario’s name for the former Spanish colony of Western Sahara – is working actively with the governments of neighboring countries to resolve the situation.

Fernandez de Rincon, Gonyalons and Urru were kidnapped Oct. 23 from a facility near the Algerian town of Tindouf where foreign aid workers are lodged.

A branch of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb has claimed responsibility for the abductions.

Efforts to free the aid workers have been complicated by the Tuareg rebellion in northern Mali, where the captives are believed to be held, Taleb Omar said.

Despite the kidnapping, aid groups continue to operate in the Saharawi refugee camps, he said.

The Algerian-backed Polisario Front launched a war for independence against Morocco in 1975 after the North African kingdom annexed Western Sahara on the withdrawal of Spanish forces. EFE

Popular posts from this blog

Answer given by Vice-President Mogherini on behalf of the Commission

-
Image
 Answer given by Vice-President  Mogherini on behalf of the Commission The EU is closely following the situation of human rights in Morocco and Western Sahara, including through its contacts with civil society organisations, human rights defenders, the National Council of Human Rights (CNDH) and its regional offices. The EU has specifically enquired about the situation of Mohamed Daoudi. The EU has been informed that members of the regional office of Tan Tan-Guelmin payed him a visit on 8 October 2016. According to our information, on the same day Mohamed Daoudi was taken to the hospital where his health situation is being monitored. In the context of its political dialogue with the Moroccan authorities, the EU consistently expresses its concerns about alleged cases of ill-treatment and impunity. Political dialogue goes in parallel with the important support provided by the EU through its financial cooperation to public institutions and civil society to reform ...
Read more

South Sudan should not receive the Blood Money from the Moroccan King

-
Image
January 22, 2017 (SSB ) —- In recent time the King of Morocco has been giving away a lot of money as seen in the following instances— on October 20, 2016, WIKILEAKS leaks that the Moroccan King Promises $12 Million Dollars to meet with Hillary Clinton. The above WIKILEAKS followed the report on Oct 18, 2016 of the visit by Morocco’s King Mohammed VI to African countries, which was said to be the first of its kind since coronation in 1999. The visit followed a lengthy letter to African Union (AU) summit in Rwanda in which King Mohammed VI of Morocco declared his country’s intention to become a member of the union after the long time break with the body. After that letter, the Moroccan monarch planned and started touring some countries in Africa. These countries include: Nigeria, Zambia, Madagascar, Rwanda, Tanzania, Ethiopia and then now he is expected to visit South Sudan. The first country to be visited by the King of Morocco was Rwanda where he signed 19 agreement...
Read more

EL-MELHFA: A Symbol of Beauty and Resistance

-
Image
El-melhfa is a four-meter long by one-meter wide piece of fabric. It is not any ordinary piece of cloth; it is the symbol of the Saharawi heritage, beauty, and resistance. Many people may view it as a religious, specifically Muslim symbol. But El-melhfa, above all, is cultural and unique to the Saharawi people, used by every ethnic and religious groups within the Saharawi population. It comes in variety of colors, patterns and materials. It can be one color, three or ten. It may be simple or with artistic shapes and patterns or even with the flag of Western Sahara. El-melhfa has different names depending on the colors and the material it is made of. Sometimes, it gets its name from the age group of women. El-melhfa, when you think about, holds a very practical role in the life of people like the Saharawis. A country like Western Sahara is mostly desert with a weather that is dry, hot and characterized with sand-storms. And so, El-melhfa can serve as a means of protection fro...
Read more