During August, young unemployed people from Western Sahara continued their protests against the Moroccan government, which has illegally occupied the territory since 1975. On 23 August, jobless Sahrawi graduates and other unemployed young people gathered in front of the governor’s office in Bojador, demanding a share of the earnings from the natural resources of Western Sahara, and protesting against the brutality of the Moroccan security forces, who broke up a demonstration at the end of July.
At the same time, unemployed Sahrawi youth in Smara protested outside ANAPEC, Morocco’s “national agency for promoting employment and skills”, after the regional governor refused once again to meet a their dialogue and coordination committee.
Meanwhile, London-listed San Leon Energy announced at the beginning of August that the remote location of Morocco’s oil-shale deposits, and its lax tax regime make it the “ideal” place to develop this “unconventional” oil. The deposits at Tarfaya lie on the border with Western Sahara, and stretch south into the illegally-occupied territory.