New Network on Western Sahara Land Mines, Wall
Western Sahara is one of the most heavily mine-contaminated areas in the world. Moroccan and Mauritanian military occupations have laid landmines, anti-tank mines, cluster bombs and unexploded ordnance (UXOs) across the 266,000 km2 territory following the Moroccan invasion and their tandem occupation of Western Sahara after the POLISARIO liberation struggle and the withdrawal of the Spanish colonial power in 1975.
The Moroccan army still uses landmines and cluster bombs in Western Sahara beyond military purposes, since the effectiveness of these weapons ended with the cessation of hostilities between the parties in conflict in 1990. Land mines still buffer much of the 2,720 km-long separation wall system that Morocco has erected since 1980.
The mines remain active for decades, and of their destructive force directly affects civilians, especially children and the pastoral population. However, even the UN peacekeeping mission MINURSO is also suffering the consequences. Besides posing a real danger to the Sahrawi inhabitants, land mines and UXOs also pose a serious obstacle to a final resolution of the conflict in the territory.
This year, during the celebrations of the International Day of Landmine Awareness on 4 April, the Sahrawi Association of Mine Victims launched an appeal for mine awareness, creating a local campaign that calls for a mine-free Western Sahara. Various Saharawi civil society organizations have joined and shown support for the campaign. Now the on-line petition forms the basis of a new network of individuals and organizations concerned with land mines and the emblematic separation wall. You can join the campaign and the network by signing on to the petition.
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