RABAT — Some 200 Moroccan former prisoners of war from the conflict in the Western Sahara have begun a sit in outside parliament in Rabat, claiming compensation for their years in detention.
The protesters, some of whom were held for more than 20 years by the pro-independence Polisario Front, had camped out on a street next to the parliament building for months, but were ordered to leave at the weekend, the group's organiser said.
"The operation took place in the middle of the night (on Saturday-Sunday). They told us that any camping was forbidden," said Samir Abdallah, information confirmed by government sources.
In response, the former soldiers have staged the daytime sit-in since Monday, demanding better compensation for their sacrifices.
Abdallah says there are more than 2,000 ex-prisoners, some suffering from chronic illnesses, who were declared unfit when they were released -- between 1996 and 2005 -- and retired.
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