El Aaiún (Occupied Territories), March 17, 2026 (SPS) – The Sahrawi Association for the Monitoring of Resources and Environmental Protection in Western Sahara (SONREP) has denounced the ongoing plundering of the region’s natural resources, particularly sand, which are being illegally transported from the coasts of the occupied territory.
In a statement issued on Monday, the association stressed that the transfer of sand extracted from the coasts of Western Sahara continues as part of “organized networks for the looting of the territory’s natural resources,” stressing that these activities are carried out without the consent of the Sahrawi people, making them illegal under international law and international humanitarian law.
SONREP further affirmed that these operations are conducted under the supervision of the Moroccan occupying authorities, which continue to systematically exploit the territory’s natural resources, in blatant violation of international law and United Nations resolutions affirming the Sahrawi people’s right to permanent sovereignty over their wealth.
According to data collected by SONREP, a foreign multi-purpose vessel recently stopped at the port of El Aaiún in the occupied territories before heading toward the Canary Islands, where it is believed to have loaded large quantities of Sahrawi sand during its stay at the port.
SONREP emphasized that these practices reflect Morocco’s continued plundering and depletion of Western Sahara’s natural resources and their use to serve economic interests outside the territory, in clear breach of international law and the rules of international humanitarian law. It also called on the international community, as well as environmental and human rights organizations, to take action to put an end to the looting of natural resources in Western Sahara and to hold Morocco accountable for these ongoing violations.
Finally, SONREP reiterated its commitment to continue monitoring and documenting all activities related to the exploitation of Western Sahara’s resources and to expose the networks involved in this form of illegal trade, which harms both the environment and the rights of the Sahrawi people.
