Morocco once again contaminates large areas of Western Sahara with landmines
ALGIERS – APS.dz.- The Operations Officer of the Saharawi Mine Action Coordination Office “SAMACO”, Ghithi Nah Al-Bashir, confirmed that Morocco destroyed 14 years of humanitarian work to which Polisario contributed heavily, to clean up the region of landmines, and recontaminated large areas with these devastating bombs, especially since its flagrant violation of the ceasefire and the resumption of war.
Ghaith al-Nah said, in an interview with WAJ, that “at a time when the world celebrates the 23rd anniversary of the entry into force of the Mine Ban Treaty, the Saharawi people continue to heal their wounds and face the dangers of these mines and various munitions planted by the Moroccan occupier in Western Sahara and polluting the region through them, as well as the use of drones against the Saharawi civilian population”, denouncing “the disrespect by the Moroccan occupier of the agreements on anti-personnel mines and the use of some internationally banned weapons”.
In this context, the Saharawi official clarified that, after the return of the war on 13 November 2020, Morocco contaminated many areas that had previously been cleansed, thus ruining 14 years of humanitarian work with the participation of international organizations, the United Nations and the strong cooperation of the Polisario Front.
In this regard, he noted, before returning to the war, “more than 14,000 kilometers of roads and about 150 meters of land east of the wall, 37 minefields, 485 areas contaminated by cluster bombs and more than 24,000 cluster bombs and about 9,000 unexploded ordnance, including bombs, projectiles and remnants of the previous war, and about 8,000 anti-personnel and anti-tank mines had been destroyed.
He explained that after the Moroccan invasion of Western Sahara in 1975, “the occupier used mines extensively and horribly, in a way the world had never seen before”, planting “more than 20% of all mines known to mankind, making the Saharawi people are the most vulnerable to these weapons”.
The international community is obliged to exert pressure on the occupation to sign the Mine Ban Treaty.
Ghaithi al-Nah warned that these mines, which were manufactured by 14 countries, mostly European countries and members of the Security Council, are “one of the most advanced mines in the world, as they include plastic mines that do not contain iron and their weight does not exceed four grams, which makes them difficult to detect”. They are therefore very dangerous mines, capable of being active both in water and on land”.
What also increases the danger of these mines, added the same speaker, are the factors of rain, torrential rain and wind that make them move from place to place and make them very difficult to detect and follow.
He said: “We don’t have the technology, nor the specialized equipment, nor the experts in the matter, and we are often content to raise awareness and warn about the dangers of these mines, which kill, displace and daily sow terror and chaos among the Saharawis”, stressing that the most affected are defenseless civilians and nomads and people who carry out sheep and camel herding activities, as well as other activities such as the search for firewood and water.
The Saharawi official stressed that these lethal weapons that kill dozens of defenseless civilians, including children, “will continue to form part of the bad memory of those who manufactured and sold them, especially those who planted them, as well as those who do not condemn them”.
Mentioning that most countries in the world signed the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention in 1999, Ghaithi al-Nah stated that Morocco, which is one of the few countries that has not yet signed it, continues to use these mines, ” to try to occupy land and intimidate the Saharawi people,” while claiming to respect human rights in Western Sahara.
The spokesman explained that the Moroccan occupation “prevents the access of international bodies, including the United Nations, to a distance of less than five kilometers near the wall, under the pretext that it represents the “core of Moroccan defense”.
The Saharawi official condemned, in this regard, “the negative treatment by Morocco of the Polisario initiative to unilaterally ban landmines, as well as the failure of the international community to condemn or impose sanctions on the occupation as a result”.
In this context, he said: “We, in the Saharawi Office for the Coordination of Action Against Mines, appeal to the international community, the United Nations and all agencies, charities, activists and lawyers to exert more pressure on Morocco to sign a ban on anti-personnel mines and allow international organizations to carry out complete demining, provide assistance to their victims and place maps of mines and contamination in the territories under Moroccan occupation.
He considered that the maintenance of these devastating weapons for man, animals and the environment is “proof of the Moroccan regime’s lack of seriousness in its search for a peaceful, just and equitable solution to the conflict in Western Sahara”.
The operations officer of the Office for the Coordination of Mine Action in Western Sahara recalled that the Polisario Front is the first liberation movement to sign the so-called “Geneva Agreement for the prohibition of anti-personnel mines”.
Photo: Gaithi al-Nah al-Bashir, director of operations of the Sahrawi Office for the Coordination of Anti-mine Action (SAMACO). Source: porunasaharalibre.
