After strict measures for several month, the pandemic has now arrived the vulnerable Saharawi refugee camps in Algeria.
Saharawi authorities announced on 23 July the first four cases of covid-19 in the Saharawi refugee camps in Algeria. The camps are refuge for around 200.000 refugees who have lived in exile since Morocco illegally invaded their homeland in 1975.
The Saharawi health ministry announced that one of the four cases is critical, while the three others have few or no symptoms. The cases were reported in the centrally located camp Boujdour, in the administrative hub Rabouni, as well in the very distant and isolated camp of Dakhla.
“Our vulnerable situation means that we have to double our efforts in the time to come”, the Saharawi health minister wrote on Twitter yesterdy afternoon.
The virus spread rapidly in the occupied terrtory end of June to beginning of July. At the same time, the prevalence increased in the Algerian region of Tindouf, where the Saharawi camps are located. No cases have so far been reported in the part of Western Sahara which is not under occupation.
Follow the latest news regarding the corona sitution in Western Sahara on our website.
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.
In a recent published decision of 1 April 2024, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention requested the immediate release of the young Saharawi journalist Khatri Dadda.