2011 Western Saharan protests
The 2011 Western Saharan protests began on 25 February 2011 as a reaction to the failure of police to prevent anti-Sahrawi looting in the city of Dakhla, Western Sahara, and blossomed into protests across the territory. They were related to the Gdeim Izik protest camp in Western Sahara established the previous fall, which had resulted in violence between Sahrawi activists and Moroccan security forces and supporters. The protests also purportedly drew inspiration from the Arab Spring and successful revolts in Tunisia and Egypt, although the Arab Spring proper did not reach Western Sahara.
| 2011 Western Saharan protests | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Arab Spring and Western Sahara conflict | |||
Locator map of the Western Sahara with zones of de facto control | |||
| Date | 25 February 2011 – May 2011 | ||
| Location | Western Sahara, with some incidents in southern Morocco | ||
| Caused by | Discrimination, lack of self-determination, police brutality | ||
| Methods | Civil disobedience, civil resistance, demonstrations, hunger strikes, protest camps, sit-ins, rioting | ||
| Resulted in | No visible changes | ||
| Parties | |||
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| Casualties and losses | |||
| 1 killed, hundreds injured | |||
No significant protests were reported beyond May 2011, though international media coverage of Western Sahara is incomplete at best. There is renewed calls for peaceful protests from the Polisario Front.