LAAYOUNE, Western Sahara — Though the United Nations’ peace mission in Western Sahara lies lifeless, the struggle of the Sahrawi people is very much alive.
As the indigenous Sahrawis strive for independence from Morocco, progress and setbacks are intertwined. In July came progress: Morocco’s highest appeals court ordered a new trial for 24 Sahrawi activists who had been arrested after a mass protest in 2010 at the Gdeim Izik camp. Yet on Aug. 21, political activist Sukain Jad Ahlu was leading a peaceful protest at the Fem El Oud beach when she was attacked by police and badly beaten.
