"The involvement of Polisario in these acts is well established," said Keenan, who was speaking at a conference organized by Menas Associates, a think tank specializing in Middle Eastern Affairs and North Africa, under the theme "The new political and security risks in the Sahel region."

Keenan, a professor and research associate at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London and an advisor to several UK companies, added, before an audience of businessmen, " Polisario does not act alone. " This is "an instrument" of the Algerian Department of Intelligence and Security (DRS), which serves other groups "to sow anarchy" in the Sahel region.

It is worth mentioning that several reports from influential international think tanks continued to warn that the Tindouf camps, run by the Polisario on Algerian territory, have become "a hub" of criminal activity of any kind, based on ties increasingly close between the separatist leaders and those of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) along with other extremist groups.

The international human rights organizations did not stand indifferent to such an alarming situation.

Last May, Amnesty International said in its annual report for 2012 on the situation of human rights worldwide, in October 2011, three aid workers-a man, a Spanish citizen, and two women, one Italian and one Spanish-"have been abducted by an armed group in a refugee camp managed by the Polisario Front."

These people "were not released at the end of the year," said the organization. In this context, Philip Luther, Director of the Middle East and North Africa within AI, said it is a question that has not been resolved and that those responsible for this abduction "have not been brought to justice. " "We are opposed to kidnapping and arbitrary detention regardless of the group that carries out such practices," he said.

In addition, Jeremy Keenan has recently stressed that "the Sahara issue will not find its way to a settlement as long as Algeria pursues its entrenched positions." "The current impasse in the Sahara issue is due to the stubbornness of the Algerian authorities," said Keenan, criticizing what he described as "unrealistic dream" of Algeria to accede one day to the coast Atlantic via the Sahara.

In this context, Keenan denounced the ordeal imposed on thousands of Sahrawis in the Tindouf camps, stressing that the sequestered population lives in deplorable conditions. Emphasizing the close relationship between Polisario vis-à-vis DRS, the expert claimed to have access to documents that prove that the so-called Polisario media are controlled by the Algerian service.

«Polisario publications show a clear dependence on the Algerian intelligence", he said, adding that Polisario and DRS speeches are identical which raise several questions.

- News and events on Western Sahara issue / Corcas -