After several days as tourists in Dakhla, the students Kenneth Karijord and Håvard Saanum were expelled from the occupied Western Sahara this morning. Eight others were also expelled from Western Sahara today.
Published 18 January 2016
"Our luggage is gone, and what appears to be the police, have our passports. We don't know were we are at the moment, but we believe we're being deported to Agadir."
That text message was sent to the Norwegian Support Committee for Western Sahara this morning.
The two students arrived in Dakhla last week, and intended to visit El Aaiun on their way north, visiting Saharawis. However, they were both arrested immediately upon arrival to El Aaiun.
Meanwhile, seven students announced they were being deported from the occupied territory. They were stopped by police in a checkpoint outside the capital of Western Sahara. The police stated it was "due to security reasons".
The seven were transported in a public bus, with just the seven students on board. Hilde Nord Anglevik (23), Sunniva Folgen Høiskar (20), Mathilde Bålsrud Mjelva (21), Tora Regina Myrvang Deglum (22), Hanna Hagebø Steffenak (20), Maja Fjellvær Thompson (21) og Ulrikke Thomsen (25). They are all students at the University of Oslo, apart from Thomsen from Høgskolen in Hedmark.
Lastly, Norwegian citizen Fujan Parsa was expelled in the afternoon.