Under pressure from the Trump administration, Algiers has put forward an option regarding the future of the Tindouf camps, according to Moroccan sources. This proposal has raised concerns in both Rabat and Washington. DR ‹ › The dismantling of the Tindouf camps was reportedly raised by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau during his meeting with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf, well-informed Moroccan sources told Yabiladi. In response, Tebboune is said to have «asked for time» to consider the possibility of dismantling the camps, without explicitly rejecting the request. He instead proposed «transferring the Sahrawis from the camps to the buffer zone» east of the Royal Armed Forces' (FAR) Sand Wall. This proposal is viewed as a «trap solution», as it would bolster the Polisario's long-standing narrative of «liberated territories» since the 1991 ceasefire. In effect, it would amount to recognizing a form of «control» by the «Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR)» over part of Western Sahara. A contested reality on the ground Such a notion of «control», however, is widely disputed. Since withdrawing from the ceasefire on November 13, 2020, the Polisario has lost any effective civil or military presence in the area. The Algerian proposal was reportedly rejected by both Morocco and the United States. For its part, the United Nations has not taken any official position at this stage on the idea of a transfer. Rabat has also made clear, during two rounds of discussions held in February under the Trump administration's aegis, that it would only accept the return of Sahrawis able to prove ties to the Sahara. In this regard, Spain's 1974 census is seen as a potential reference point to identify those genuinely linked to the region. Yabiladi learned that the Spanish government has provided the United Nations with a comprehensive list of individuals recorded at the time, in order to facilitate the identification of those eligible for a possible return. This document, reportedly subject to attempted falsification by the Polisario in the 1990s, could also help challenge the presence of thousands of individuals accused of inflating camp population figures. The census notably excludes certain groups, including Rguibates of Algerian origin, some of whom have held key positions within the Polisario. A growing security concern After decades of contentious management of the Sahara issue, Algeria now finds itself in a delicate position. The presence on its territory of thousands of individuals, some armed, militarily trained, and with alleged links to separatist or jihadist groups active in the Sahel, represents a significant security challenge for the authorities. In this context, the proposal to relocate the Tindouf camps to the buffer zone appears as an attempt by Algiers to deflect the consequences of its long-standing political impasse on the Sahara issue.
