Tuesday afternoon, another four Norwegians were denied entry to Western Sahara. The total number of people expelled from Western Sahara - or denied access to the territory - has now reached 67. They received a peculiar explanation.
Four Norwegians were at 4 PM Tuesday afternoon denied access to Western Sahara, in the far south of Morocco, and ordered by the police to travel back to Agadir where they had started out from.
The conversation with the police at the checkpoint of Guelmim was as the following:
Police: "It is forbidden to stay here in Morocco".
Traveller Andreas: "For Norwegians?".
Police: "For Norwegians and Swedes".
The four came in a rental car from Agadir. They are now driving northwards escorted by a police vehicle.
The four are Mathias Melø Haugen, Nils Eivind Holth Landrø, Håvard Røsæg, Andreas Lillebråten. The group wanted to discuss the issue of self-determination and referendum with Saharawis in the area under Moroccan foreign occupation.
Moroccan claims to the territory is rejected by the International Court of Justice, and no states in the world recognise these claims.
The number of people who during the last two days have been deported from Western Sahara - or have been denied access to the territory - has thus reached 67.
Sahrawi civil society welcomes a new report from the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearance, and urges exhumations and identification of victims in the Morocco-occupied Western Sahara.
This week, Morocco is for the first time placed under review in the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances.
At least 520 families are said to have been evacuated in the Dakhla camp this week after heavy rains.
The Norwegian-owned 'Caroline Theresa' called at two ports in the occupied territories last week.