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UN special envoy’s round of talks in Sahara held back by the death of a minor

 
The kid tried to get into a camp in a car, where thousands of Saharans were protesting against the Western Sahara’s economic resources being drained by Morocco · Christofer Ross is to meet Moroccan, Saharan, Algerian and Mauritanian representatives before resuming the peace talks on November 3 · Morocco offers autonomy , whereas the Polisario Front demands a referendum for independence.

The protest held by thousands of Saharan people at the outskirts of Laayoune, the capital of Western Sahara, resulted in a shed of blood after the Moroccan police shot against a vehicle approaching the camp. A 14 year-old boy was shot dead and other seven young people were wounded. The incident occurred amidst the round of talks carried out by the UN special envoy to Western Sahara, Christopher Ross.

According to the Polisario Front's news agency SPS, the minor died as the vehicle was trying to introduce "water, food and medicines" into the 15,000-20,000 people camp (AFP reduces the number to 10,000). There is also two young people seriously injured. The Moroccan government said policemen opened fire responding to a shot from the car.

Christofer Ross is currently in North West Africa to meet representatives of Algeria, Mauritania, Morocco and Western Sahara to prepare the round of peace talks due on November 3 to 5. According to Ross the current impasse (Morocco is offering autonomy whereas the Polisario Front calls for a self-determination referendum to be held) must be overcome with "negotiations with no previous conditions and with good will". UN's special envoy said the goal is to reach a fair, lasting and mutually acceptable settlement which would provide for the self-determination of the people of the Western Sahara.

Contradictory accounts on the camp

Several sources point out that the Laayoune camp was dismantled on Monday, while other sources say the camps closed were those set up in other towns. According to a third account, Moroccan security forces are pulling up a wall to seize the camp.

The SaharaLibre.es website, with close ties with the Polisario Front, shows a video shot within the camp premises detailing Sahrawis claims. Among them, there is the wish to express contempt for Moroccan policies regarding Western Sahara, a treatment that causes people's "poverty and exclusion". The video says the Western Sahara people should "benefit from the natural resources of their land", particularly those related to fishery and phosphate exploitation, and adds that most of Sahrawi youth is unemployed.

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