Mark Williams – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Williams on 2014-06-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on how the ongoing conflict in Western Sahara affects the ability of terrorist and criminal gangs to recruit disaffected youth in the refugee camps or the occupied territory.

Hugh Robertson

We monitor the security situation in the region from a number of sources. We are aware of frustration in both Western Sahara and the Tindouf refugee camps at the lack of progress in the political process and at the socio-economic conditions in the camps. However, we are not aware of any evidence to suggest increased radicalisation of Sahrawi youth by terrorist or criminal gangs.