The Makhzen Tightens Its Repressive Grip on the Occupied Sahrawi Territories
✍️ BY: Dr. Hana Saada
Algiers – October 2025 – The occupied territories of Western Sahara are currently enduring one of the harshest waves of security and police repression imposed by the Moroccan Makhzen regime, as reports of grave human rights violations and systemic intimidation against Sahrawi civilians and pro-independence activists continue to multiply.
This escalation in oppression and surveillance comes at a politically sensitive moment, coinciding with both the consultations of the United Nations Security Council on the Western Sahara question and the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Sahrawi national unity, a landmark in the ongoing struggle for self-determination.
Across the occupied cities — particularly Laayoune, Smara, Boujdour, and Dakhla — the Makhzen’s repressive apparatus has intensified its stranglehold, deploying police and paramilitary forces to monitor activists’ movements, block peaceful gatherings, and stifle all forms of expression opposing Morocco’s occupation. Activists report that security checkpoints, arbitrary searches, and home surveillance have become part of daily life for anyone suspected of supporting the Sahrawi cause.
This new crackdown follows the draft resolution circulated by the U.S. Permanent Mission to the United Nations on October 22, 2025, which sparked widespread protest among Sahrawis who reject any attempt to undermine their inalienable right to self-determination and independence. Peaceful demonstrations organized to denounce the political maneuvering were met with heavy-handed police responses, arbitrary detentions, and widespread intimidation.
Inside Moroccan prisons, Sahrawi political detainees continue to face cruel and degrading treatment, enduring isolation, physical abuse, denial of medical care, and restrictions on family visits. These practices, denounced by international human rights organizations, reflect a deliberate policy of vengeance and humiliation designed to break the will of Sahrawi prisoners and silence their voices.
The pattern of repression has been steadily worsening since the Moroccan violation of the 1991 ceasefire agreement on November 13, 2020, when occupation forces launched an assault on Sahrawi civilians in the illegal breach at Guerguerat. Since then, Morocco has intensified its use of security sieges, arbitrary arrests, and media blackouts in the occupied territories — a clear indication of its fear of dissent and of the growing resolve of the Sahrawi people.
Eyewitnesses and local media have documented the deployment of Moroccan occupation forces around the homes of Sahrawi activists, particularly during the recent anniversary events, as part of an effort to prevent mobilization and suppress visibility of the Sahrawi cause. Images and videos emerging from the region reveal the full scale of the Makhzen’s suffocating security grip — a policy aimed at erasing any form of public resistance.
In statements made to independent media outlets, numerous Sahrawis have condemned the regime’s systematic campaign of harassment and collective punishment, denouncing it as a flagrant violation of international law and an affront to human dignity. They reaffirmed their unwavering commitment to continue the struggle for freedom, justice, and the legitimate right of the Sahrawi people to determine their own destiny.
As Morocco tightens its siege, the voices rising from the occupied territories remind the world that repression cannot extinguish a people’s will for liberation. The Makhzen’s attempts to silence the Sahrawis only further expose the illegitimacy of its occupation and strengthen the moral and political case for Western Sahara’s independence — a cause that remains firmly anchored in the principles of international law and the enduring spirit of a people who refuse to surrender.
📡🌍 | About Dzair Tube Media Group | 🌍📡
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📰 Dzair Tube is a trailblazer in Algerian digital journalism, delivering high-quality content in Arabic, French, and English. With more than 📈 500,000 daily clicks, it ranks among the most influential media platforms in the country.
🏆 Awarded the President of the Republic’s Prize for Professional Journalist in the Electronic Press category (🗓 October 22, 2022), Dzair Tube is widely recognized for its editorial excellence and integrity.
📱 Massive Digital Reach:
🔴 350,000+ YouTube subscribers
🔵 6 million+ followers across Facebook pages
📸 70,000+ Instagram followers
🎥 Operating from state-of-the-art studios, Dzair Tube broadcasts rich and diverse programming, including:
🗞 News | ⚽ Sports | 🎭 Entertainment | 🕌 Religion | 🎨 Culture
🗣️ Featuring interactive talk shows and exclusive interviews with prominent figures from politics, business, arts, and more, Dzair Tube serves as a key platform for public discourse and civic engagement.
📰 Its print sports daily, “Dzair Sport,” enjoys over 50,000 daily downloads via the official website—further cementing the platform’s multimedia leadership.
🎖️ Honored with the Media Leadership Award by the former Minister of Communication, Mohamed Laâgab, and celebrated at the Hilals of the Television awards, Dzair Tube continues to lead with innovation, influence, and impact.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🌐 Stay Connected:
🔗 Website: www.dzair-tube.dz
🔗 English: www.dzair-tube.dz/en
📲 Follow us on Facebook | Instagram | YouTube
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
