The international community is under pressure to end the alarming situation of child soldiers in the Polisario-run Tindouf camps in Algeria.
A viral hashtag #Save_the_children_of_Tindouf is circulating on social media platforms, particularly Twitter, spotlighting the predicament of children being trained and recruited in the “military” branch of the Algerian-backed separatist Polisario Front.
One video shows a girl not more than six-year-old using a machine gun in the middle of nowhere. Other pictures accompanying the hashtag trending in different languages, including Arabic, French and English show Polisario militia members and self-proclaimed activists wearing military uniforms.
A post read: “Please, we call on the international organizations to intervene to protect Tindouf’s children because the Polisario terrorist organization recruits them for war and deprives them of education”
Some of the photos show Sultana Khaya, who describes herself as an activist defending Sahrawis’ rights, holding a rifle.
The European Parliament last month rejected Khaya’s candidacy for the 2021 Sakharov Prize after evidence emerged of her controversial links with the Polisario leadership.
Khaya participated in the Polisario Front’s military training and exercises from January 1-12 in 2019. Morocco has long warned the UN against self-proclaimed peace activists’ support for both Polisario’s war against Morocco and its violations of children’s rights in the Tindouf camps.
On November 17, Omar Hilale, Morocco’s Permanent Ambassador to the UN, sent a letter to the president and members of the Security Council to further detail Khaya’s involvement with the armed branch of the Polisario Front.
Hilale asked in the letter “With regard to the so-called Sultana Khaya in particular, it is worth wondering since when have human rights activists been in military training, with the Kalashinkov slung over their shoulders?”
The Moroccan diplomat presented evidence, including photos with his letter, showing Khaya in military uniforms and holding a rifle.
Morocco’s ambassador to Peru, Amine Chaudry, echoed Hilale’s concerns, denouncing the tragic and inhumane situation of Sahrawis in the Polisario-run camps.