On Wednesday, April 9, the Algerian army shot and killed at least two Sahrawi gold prospectors and injured several others in the Tindouf camps, according to a provisional report. The attack was reportedly carried out by an Algerian army drone in the El Argoub area, located within the Dakhla camp, about 200 km from Rabouni, the administrative headquarters of the Polisario Front. This latest incident is not isolated. In April 2024, Algerian soldiers had already killed three Sahrawi gold prospectors in the same Dakhla camp. Back in October 2020, two other residents of the Tindouf camps were burned alive by Algerian soldiers while digging a well approximately seven meters deep in search of gold. These killings by the Algerian army have taken place in complete silence from the Polisario leadership and its affiliated media. For many impoverished Sahrawis who refuse to join the Polisario's armed militias, gold prospecting remains one of the few available means of survival. Alongside drug trafficking and enlisting in terrorist groups operating in the Sahel, it is often seen as a desperate escape from poverty.
