"Initially, we went on the spot (Tindouf camps in Algeria) to work on the issue of separated families. However, during our stay, we witnessed scenes of slavery," said Violeta Ayala to the Reporters Without Borders.

"As journalists, it is our duty to denounce such practices," she stressed.

In a statement made public Wednesday, Reporters Without Borders said that two Australian journalists have been arrested by Polisario security forces which confiscated their mobile phones "before being" transported in the offices of security services where they were held for five hours".

Reporters Without Borders said, on the basis of information it claims to have obtained that "Polisario representatives accused the two Australian journalists of interest in the fate of undesirable members of the Saharan population".

The organization said that thanks to the intervention of UN officers, the two Australian journalists were able to leave the Rabouni camp and go to Tindouf, where they took a plane for France a few days later.

    Source: MAP