Zemla Intifada
| Zemla Intifada | |||
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| Part of Western Sahara conflict | |||
| Date | 17 June 1970 | ||
| Location | El Aaiun, Spanish Sahara | ||
| Goals | Independence of the territory | ||
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The Zemla Intifada (or the Zemla Uprising) is the name used to refer to disturbances of June 17, 1970, which culminated in a massacre by Spanish Legion forces in the Zemla district of El Aaiun, Spanish Sahara (nowadays Western Sahara).
Leaders of the previous secret organization Harakat Tahrir called for a demonstration to read out a petition of goals in response against the Spanish occupation of Western Sahara. On June 17, 1970, this petition was read to the Spanish governor-general of the colony, General José María Pérez de Lema y Tejero, peacefully.
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 Spanish Foreign Legion who opened fire on the demonstrators, killing at least eleven people.
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 after being arrested in 1970.
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