An Armed Attack against a Polisario Militia : a first in Tindouf

A group of armed men stormed a unit of the Polisario armed militia stationed in the locality called Tersal.
The unidentified assailants who were aboard 4X4 vehicles fired several shots against the Polisario militia, injuring more or less seriously several elements of the militia, said a militant of the Youth Movement for Change “MJPC.” The injured individuals were transported by night aboard military pick-ups to a hospital in the Rabouni camp, said the same source.
Immediately after it was informed about the incident, the Polisario HQ in Rabouni declared a general alert and deployed soldiers in the scene of the armed attack. The soldiers were instructed to comb the area and to chase the attackers who took advantage of the night to disappear in the vast Algerian desert.
According to Sahrawi sources on the spot, the Polisario militia sought the help of a well-known trafficker in the Sahara and the Sahel, nicknamed Sniba, to neutralize the group of attackers. The drug trafficker is also known for his close ties with senior military officers in the Polisario leadership, including the so-called Mustapha Mohamed Ali Sid El Bachir, former commander of the so-called fourth military zone.
The armed attack against the Polisario military unit at Tersal, the first of its kind, and the hunting of the attackers were shrouded in utmost secrecy by the leadership of the Sahrawi separatist movement.
Polisario officials have reportedly said they are convinced the attack was carried out by military defectors who have joined the military wing of the MJPC. Sahrawi dissidents have recently announced the creation of two battalions baptized katiba “D’Cheira” and katiba “Khatri Hmadha Khandoud”. The founders of these battalions have actually defected the Polisario armed militia of the 4th military zone.
In view of these recent incidents, it seems that the peaceful opposition in the Tindouf camps is taking a new twist that the Polisario leaders are taking very seriously principally since the creation of the MJPC and the two dissident battalions.