Algeria and the Polisario use the residents of the Tindouf camps as a bargaining chip in front of the international community. Despite UN demands for a census, Algeria categorically refuses and provides conflicting figures. Credible reports suggest that many residents of the Tindouf camps are from Algeria, Mauritania, and the Sahel, with no direct connection to Western Sahara.
Following an April mutiny within the Polisario militia, tensions escalated further Monday with the defection of approximately one hundred fighters.