Bir Lehlou (liberated territories), Oct 24, 2011 (SPS) - The Saharawi Republic (SADR) has called upon the African Union and international community to condemn, immediately and in the strongest terms, the cowardly attack targeted 3 European aid workers in the Saharawi refugee camps, as to assist and support the Sahrawi Republic and people in the face of this terrorist act.
In a letter addressed Sunday to Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union, Dr Jean Ping, the President of the Republic, Mr. Mohamed Abdelaziz, said that an armed group entered from Malian territory attacked around midnight, on 22 October, the foreigner’s reception centre in the refugee camps and kidnapped three European aid workers in the humanitarian field.
“This terrorist attack was carried out on safe refugee camps, where peaceful Sahrawi refugees, including women, children and the elderly live together with representatives and aid workers from a host of international and non-governmental organisations working in the humanitarian field,” the President of the Republic called attention of AU that this attack aims “to terrorise the foreign aid workers, jeopardise the international solidarity with the cause of these refugees, and even to deprive them from the humanitarian aid on which they depend for their subsistence.”
He expressed certainty that such criminal act “will not affect the principled solidarity and the noble humanitarian actions carried out by these organisations, associations, and personalities,” reaffirming SADR and Polisario Front’s principled position and utter rejection and condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
“The Sahrawi Republic, State party to the OAU Convention on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism of 1999 and the African Union Protocol to the OAU Convention on the Prevention and Combating of terrorism of 2004, reiterates its relentless readiness to cooperate with the African Union and the international community in general to eradicate this condemnable transnational phenomenon,” indicated the letter.
It therefore underlined “Sahrawi Government has taken the necessary measures and has been in contact with the neighbouring countries and all parties concerned to make every effort possible to track down the kidnappers and free the hostages.” (SPS)
090/089/TRA