While getting close to a thousand of defectors who have – since 2010 – escaped the camps of the Polisario Front for Morocco, the revolutionary movement leadership decided to act ruthlessly, and totally review its camps security procedures. First targeted were the desert “land rover taxis”, which least movement requires now a clearance from the Polisario leadership.
A special pass should thus be delivered to any person using this type of All Terrain Vehicle in order to stop escapes to Morocco. The process used by most of the defectors is often the same: a 4×4 taxi up to Mauritania, then reporting to Morocco’s Consulate or the border crossing point to be supported by Moroccan authorities.
At the current pace of escapes by the “rallied” to Morocco, the Polisario Front simply fears that the camps get progressively emptied from the youngest and strongest people, leaving only the elderly, children and women. Such a change in the population of Tindouf camps would in fact dramatically affect the Polisario Front, threatening few months ago to take up arms, but risking not to find anyone to carry them.
Even Algeria, its army in particular, seems to be overcome with the “flood” of Sahrawis escaping the camps towards Morocco. A very high-level meeting took place between the head of Tindouf camps security – recently assigned after the imprisonment of Ahmed Berrih and the head of Algerian army in charge of the camps, with view to discuss the means to stop this flood of escaping defectors.
