An injured Saharawi girl was taken to hospital and is in critical condition after being hit by a four-wheel drive police car. The car fled the scene following the accident.

‘The young girl was crossing the road and the Moroccan police car hit her, it didn’t try to brake or move out of the way’, a witness tells Adala UK.

According to members of Adala UK present in the occupied capital, El Aiun, the incident took place after a peaceful protest in which dozens of Saharawis participated, and in which occupation forces violently intervened. The police car, which was part of the intervention, knocked down 5-year-old Manaya Mint Aabadda.

Thanks to statements from the girl’s family given to Adala UK, we know that they were able to find out the number plate of the car, and will file a complaint to the Moroccan authorities. The family have been protesting in front of police headquarters in the centre of the Maatallah neighbourhood, supported by dozens of Saharawis.

The incident has provoked anger among members of the Saharawi community.

At the protests, which started in the neighbourhood of Maatallah in the occupied capital of El Aiun, demonstrators peacefully defended the Saharawi population’s right to self-determination, recognised by the UN under resolution 1514.

The Moroccan authorities used excessive force, using stones, metal truncheons and poles to disperse the peaceful Saharawi protestors.

Adala UK urges the Moroccan authorities to respect the right to freedom of assembly and peaceful expression. The Moroccan government must immediately open an independent and impartial investigation into the circumstances surrounding Manaya Mint Aabadda’s injuries.

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