Gdeim Izik protest camp
The Gdeim Izik protest camp (also spelled Gdayam Izik) was a protest camp in Western Sahara, established on 9 October 2010 and lasting into November that year, with related incidents occurring in the aftermath of its dismantlement on 8 November. The primary focus of the protests was against "ongoing discrimination, poverty and human rights abuses against local citizens".
| Gdeim Izik protest camp | |||
|---|---|---|---|
The Gdeim Izik protest camp in late October 2010. | |||
| Date | 9 October – 8 November 2010 | ||
| Location | |||
| Caused by | Discrimination of local citizens, Poverty, Human rights abuses | ||
| Methods | Demonstrations, protest camp, rioting | ||
| Parties | |||
| Casualties and losses | |||
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While protests were initially peaceful, they were later marked by clashes between Sahrawi civilians and Moroccan security forces. Some referred to the protests as the Third Sahrawi Intifada, following the First and the Second Sahrawi Intifadas.
Political activist Noam Chomsky has suggested that the month-long protest encampment at Gdeim Izik constituted the start of the Arab Spring, while most sources consider the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi in Tunisia on 17 December 2010 to be the actual start.