Free Zone (region)
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The "Free Zone" or "Liberated Territories" are names used by pro-independence Sahrawis to denote the area in Western Sahara east and south of the Moroccan Wall (or berm); approximately 20% of the territory. The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) claims to control this area with Bir Lehlou as the temporary capital of the area and of the SADR; a substitute for El Aaiún, which is part of the Southern Provinces, the Moroccan-governed territories since 1975. However, the main Polisario headquarters remain in the refugee camps of Tindouf Province, just across the border in Algeria.
The area is patrolled by Polisario forces [1], and access is restricted, even among Sahrawis, due to the harsh climate of the Sahara, the military conflict and the abundance of land mines.[2] Still, the area is traveled and inhabited by many Sahrawi nomads from the Tindouf refugee camps of Algeria and the Sahrawi communities in Mauritania. United Nations MINURSO forces are also present in the area, to oversee the cease-fire between Polisario and Morocco agreed upon in the 1991 Settlement Plan.[3]
The Polisario forces (of the Sahrawi People's Liberation Army, SPLA) in the area are divided into seven "military regions", each controlled by a top commander reporting to the President of the Polisario proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic[1][2][3]. The total size of the Polisario's guerrilla army present in this area is unknown, but it is believed to number a few thousand men, despite many combantants being demobilized due to the cease-fire[4]. These forces are dug into permanent positions, such as gun emplacements, defensive trenches and underground military bases, as well as conducting mobile patrols of the territory.[5][6][7][8][9]
Major Sahrawi political events, such as Polisario congresses and sessions of the Sahrawi National Council (the SADR parliament in exile) are held in the Free Zone (especially in Tifariti and Bir Lehlou), since it is considered politically and symbolically important to conduct political affairs on Sahrawi territory. A concentration of forces for the commemoration of the Saharawi Republic’s 30th anniversary [4] were however subject to condemnation by the United Nations[5], as it was considered an example of a cease-fire violation to bring such a large force concentration into the area. Both parties have been accused of such violations by the UN, but to date there has been no serious hostile action from either side since 1991.
Annual demonstrations against the Moroccan Wall are staged in the region by Sahrawis and international activists from Spain, Italy and other mainly European countries. These actions are closely monitored by the UN.[6]
[edit] See also
- Southern Provinces (Corresponding area under Moroccan control)
- History of Western Sahara
[edit] References
- ^ Up Against the Wall New Internationalist Magazine (297), December 1998
- ^ Migrants made to cross Sahara army minefield The Guardian, October 23, 2005
- ^ MINURSO homepage Accessed May 21, 2006
- ^ Commemoration of the Saharawi Republic’s 30th anniversary in liberated territories of Western Sahara Sahara Press Service, February 27, 2006
- ^ Security Council - Report of the Secretary-General on the situation concerning Western Sahara
- ^ Secretary General's report to Security Council on Western Sahara, April 2006 (pdf file)
[edit] External links
- [10], location of Western Sahara and the "free zone", (on pro-Polisario website of AFAPREDESA, "the association for the families of Sahrawi prisoners and the dissapeared".)
