Dakhla, Sahrawi Refugee Camps, February 19, 2026 – On this 50th anniversary of the bombing of the civilian camp at Um Dreiga, the Association of Families of Sahrawi Prisoners and Disappeared (AFAPREDESA) pays solemn and poignant tribute to all the victims of these barbaric attacks perpetrated by the Moroccan air force with the authorization of Spain, the administering power of Western Sahara.
From February 19 to 21, 1976, thousands of Sahrawi civilians – mainly women, children and the elderly – had taken refuge in Um Dreiga to escape the invasion and bombings. These innocent people were targeted by deliberate and indiscriminate airstrikes. Testimonies from survivors, compiled in the report “The Other Death Flights” [1], depict absolute horror: use of incendiary bombs with napalm and white phosphorus, charred bodies, targeted destruction of the dispensary and the water point. In a few moments, entire families were annihilated, leaving hundreds dead and injured for life.
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A crucial historical fact must be emphasized with vigor: these atrocities occurred while Spain was still officially administering Western Sahara. Under international law, Spain remained the Administering Power until its withdrawal on February 26, 1976, entrusted with protecting the Sahrawi population. Spain is still the de jure administering power under current international law and under Spanish judicial jurisprudence itself. Spain became complicit in these crimes by:
- Failing in its duty to protect civilians facing invasion and bombings, in accordance with Article 73 of the UN Charter;
- Facilitating the Moroccan offensive through a hasty withdrawal of its administration and forces, without ensuring the safety of populations;
- Remaining silent on reports of massive bombings against refugee camps, despite its presence on the ground and its intelligence capabilities;
- Opening no investigation and refusing to hold Morocco responsible, at the time of the facts as well as after its illegal withdrawal.
As Ahmed Ahmed Salem, a survivor of Um Dreiga cited in the report “The Other Death Flights”, states: “Everyone knows, it is very clear to me: Spain is also responsible for this great injustice.“
These bombings are part of the broader Sahrawi genocide, as recognized by the Spanish justice system. On April 9, 2015, within the framework of the complaint filed by AFAPREDESA and other organizations, represented by lawyer Manuel Ollé, the Central Investigating Judge No. 5 of the Spanish National Court, Pablo Ruz, issued a historic ruling. This ruling recognizes that the actions of Moroccan forces against the Sahrawi people, including the 1976 bombings of the civilian population, are part of a systematic criminal enterprise characteristic of genocide.
Judge Ruz’s resolution established that the crimes perpetrated against the Sahrawis – aerial bombings of civilians, use of prohibited weapons, enforced disappearances, sexual violence, expulsion and forced displacement – constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law which, due to their massive and systematic nature, aimed at destroying the Sahrawi national group, constitute crimes of genocide.
This judicial recognition confirms what the survivors of Um Dreiga have been denouncing for fifty years: the bombs that fell on their tents, on the dispensary, on the water points, were part of a deliberate plan to eradicate the Sahrawi people from their territory.
Fifty years later, the wounds remain open and gaping. They are not limited to the physical and psychological after-effects of the survivors, but permeate the collective identity of the Sahrawi people. The very configuration of our refugee camps, with the isolated wilaya of Dakhla, bears witness to the persistent fear of overflights.
AFAPREDESA insists: these bombings constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity and are part of a crime of genocide, engaging the responsibility of Morocco and that of Spain for its legal and moral failings.
Fifty years of impunity is fifty years of unacceptable denial. On this commemorative occasion, AFAPREDESA demands:
- Official recognition by Morocco of its responsibility for these massacres;
- Official recognition by Spain of its complicity and failures as Administering Power;
- Sincere public apologies from Morocco and Spain, proportionate to the suffering endured;
- The creation of an international commission of inquiry under the auspices of the United Nations, to elucidate the facts, identify all victims and consult Spanish and Moroccan archives on these attacks;
- Full reparations for survivors and families of the disappeared, including justice, truth and rehabilitation;
- An end to impunity and the prosecution of those responsible, wherever they may reside;
- The effective implementation of the conclusions of the 2015 Spanish justice system, which recognized the genocidal nature of these crimes.
We do not forget. The Sahrawi people deserve justice and truth. The memory of Um Dreiga strengthens the struggle of the Sahrawi people for truth, Justice, self-determination and the recovery of their sovereignty over all the plundered territories of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro.