The Zemla Intifada (or the Zemla Uprising) is the name used to refer to disturbances of 17 June 1970, which culminated in a massacre (between 2 and 11 persons were killed) by

Spanish Legion For centuries, Spain recruited foreign soldiers to its army, forming the foreign regiments () such as the Regiment of Hibernia (formed in 1709 from Irishmen who fled their own country in the wake of the Flight of the Earls and the Penal la ...

forces in the Zemla

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

of El Aaiun, Spanish Sahara (modern-day

Western Sahara Western Sahara is a territorial dispute, disputed territory in Maghreb, North-western Africa. It has a surface area of . Approximately 30% of the territory () is controlled by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR); the remaining 70% is ...

Demonstration

Leaders of the previous secret organization Movement for the Liberation of Saguia el Hamra and Wadi el Dhahab (Harakat Tahrir) called for a demonstration to read out a petition of goals in response against the Spanish occupation of Western Sahara. On 17 June 1970, this petition was read to the Spanish governor-general of the colony, General José María Pérez de Lema y Tejero, peacefully.

Riot

After the demonstration was being dispersed by orders from Spain's governor-general, police moved in to arrest the Harakat Tahrir's leaders. Demonstrators responded to the police's actions by throwing stones at the police. The Spanish authorities called in the

who opened fire on the demonstrators, killing at least eleven people.

Aftermath

In the days following the incident, the Harakat Tahrir's founder Muhammad Bassiri and other Harakat Tahrir activists were hunted down by Spanish security forces. Bassiri disappeared in

jail A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where people are imprisoned under the authority of the state, usually as punishment for various cr ...

after being arrested in 1970. The Zemla demonstration led to the end of the Harakat Tahrir. Hundreds of their supporters were arrested, while other demonstrators were deported from Spanish Sahara. The suppression of the Zemla demonstration pushed the Spanish Saharan anti-colonial movement into embracing armed struggle. The militant nationalist organization

Polisario Front The Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro (Spanish language, Spanish: ; ), better known by its acronym Polisario Front, is a Sahrawi nationalism, Sahrawi nationalist liberation movement seeking to end the occupatio ...

was formed three years later.

References

{{reflist Intifadas Protests in Western Sahara Western Sahara conflict Spanish Sahara Laayoune 1970 in Spanish Sahara 1970 riots Massacres committed by Spain Massacres in 1970 June 1970 in Africa 1970 murders in Africa Spanish Legion 20th-century military history of Spain Massacres of protesters in Africa 20th-century mass murder in Africa 20th-century political riots