Shaheed El Hafed (Sahrawi refugee camps),November 10, 2013 (SPS) - The discovery of common graves in the occupied Saharawi territories has put back on the agenda of the crimes perpetrated by Moroccan authorities against Saharawi people, in defiance of international laws relating to respect of human rights.
Morocco’s violations were unveiled in early 2013 with the discovery of two mass graves in the town of Mkala, near Smara, not far from Moroccan-built Wall of the Shame" (dividing Western Sahara into two), according to Omar Abdesslam, president of Families of Saharawi Prisoners and Missing People Association (AFAPREDESA).
The discovery of the remains of at least 60 people, including children, and the identification of nine of them has shown that they were civilian Saharawis executed by Moroccan forces during the invasion and occupation of Western Sahara in 1976.
The mass grave discovery confirms once again Morocco’s inhuman practices against Saharawis since its invasion of Western Sahara, about forty years ago, despite calls by several countries and international organizations to examine human rights situation in Western Sahara, including the missing people issue.
Hundreds of people are still unaccounted for according to Saharawi figures. (SPS)
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