Tindouf camps unrest: Oulad Dlim tribe protests against Polisario over member’s death

In the Tindouf camps, young members of the Oulad Dlim tribe have set fire to several administrative sites of the Polisario. This latest eruption of anger, stemming from a minority faction within the camp's tribal framework, was sparked by the unresolved murder of one of their own, a young man named Rahmani, according to a Sahrawi source who spoke to Yabiladi.

The source indicated that the Polisario leadership allegedly attempted to cover up the crime, with the main suspect reportedly linked to Brahim Ghali's inner circle. In a bid to suppress the incident, the victim was swiftly buried without an autopsy, a decision that was immediately and peacefully contested by the deceased's family. However, their appeals were dismissed by the Polisario authorities.

This refusal only heightened tensions, swiftly escalating into violent acts. This week, young members of the Oulad Dlim tribe set fire to several judicial buildings and a gas station. Concerned that the uprising might engulf the entire camp, Brahim Ghali eventually authorized an autopsy.

However, due to the lack of a forensic medicine center in the Tindouf camps, the procedure was handed over to Algerians presented as doctors, which many observers view as a move to pacify tensions without ensuring transparency in the investigation.

Simultaneously, the Polisario leadership dispatched its "Minister of Education," Abdelkader Taleb Omar, himself a member of the Oulad Dlim, to quell the protesters' anger. This effort involved distributing money and making promises.

This revolt is not an isolated incident. Its roots trace back to the 1988 Intifada, where the Oulad Dlim led protests in the Tindouf camps, suffering significant losses with numerous deaths, disappearances, and detentions in Polisario prisons. It's a tragic chapter that both the Front and Algerian authorities prefer to overlook.

The memory of these injustices, however, resurfaces regularly, as it did this week, or during the protests in November 2023 denouncing the ongoing marginalization of this tribe within the Tindouf camps.