In a clear sign of growing public discontent, the city of Dakhla, located in the southern part of Western Sahara, witnessed a mass protest on Saturday, June 28, 2025. Hundreds of Sahrawi citizens gathered to renew their demands for self-determination and to denounce what they described as the systematic plundering of their natural resources by Moroccan authorities.
Protesters raised the flags of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) and chanted slogans calling for an end to what they consider a military and economic occupation. They condemned ongoing policies that they claim aim to alter the region’s demographic composition by encouraging a steady influx of Moroccan settlers—particularly in the fishing, industrial agriculture, and renewable energy sectors—while pressuring indigenous Sahrawis to abandon their lands.
According to images and eyewitness accounts obtained by SaharaRepublic.com, the scale of participation and the intensity of the slogans reflected a deepening sense of frustration among Sahrawis, who feel systematically marginalized and economically excluded from the wealth extracted from their territory.
This protest comes amid a complex regional and international context, where decades of UN-sponsored diplomatic efforts have yet to yield a lasting resolution. Many Sahrawis believe that Morocco’s policy of enforcing a “fait accompli” is intensifying feelings of injustice and fueling growing anger among the local population.
