Western Saharan Research Articles

Regionalisation under occupation: Western Saharan parliamentary elites and the Moroccan regionalisation strategy (2011–16)

ABSTRACT This article explores the role played by the Members of Parliament elected from the constituencies of Western Sahara in 2011 in the occupation strategies employed by the Moroccan state in this territory. The analysis begins at a time when territorial power was being redefined in Morocco, after the Moroccan proposal for an Advanced Autonomy Plan (2007) as a form of conflict resolution and the subsequent creation of institutions to address regionalisation (2010–11) and covers the entire parliamentary process. The paper examines three analytical dimensions – elections, political culture and parliamentary activity – in order to explain the development of identification processes.

Description d’une faune d’ammonites inédite dans le Turonien inférieur des Monts des Ksour (Algérie)

The Western Saharan Atlas continues to reveal its paleontological secrets. Recent prospecting carried out in the upper part of the Rhoundjaia Formation allows to discover several fossiliferous levels rich in new, unpublished ammonites (lower Turonian). Seven Species are described and illustrated in the context of this study: Neoptychitescephalotus (Courtiller, 1860), Fagesia peroni (Pervinquière, 1907), Fagesia tevesthensis (Peron, 1896), Pseudotissotia nigeriensis (Woods, 1911), Thomasites rollandi (Thomas and Peron, 1889), Choffaticeras (C.) sinaiticum (Douvillé, 1912), Hoplitoides sp. These species cover Watinoceras coloradoense and Mammites nodosoides Zones (lower Turonian) and document a south tethysian paleobiogeographic affinity.

Między polityką zaangażowania a pozytywną neutralnością. Libia i Tunezja wobec kwestii Sahary Zachodniej

BETWEEN A POLICY OF ENGAGEMENT AND POSITIVE NEUTRALITY: LIBYA AND TUNISIA ON THE ISSUE OF WESTERN SAHARA The unresolved issue of Western Sahara has been causing serious divisions in the Maghreb region for 48 years, which affects not only political relations, but also economic cooperation. The division into states supporting the independence of Western Sahara and those backing Morocco’s position has very strongly polarized the Maghreb region, as well as practically all states of the African continent. Moreover, during the Cold War, this dispute fed into division between states in the Western camp and those identified with the Eastern bloc and socialism, such as Libya. Tunisia was the only country in North Africa, which consistently tried to implement a policy of positive neutrality and because of that it was doomed to occupy a liminal space not only in the region – between Algeria and Morocco, but also in the bipolar world – between the West and the Eastern bloc. This article aims to present the two countries of Tunisia and Libya from the perspective of 48 years of the Western Saharan crisis. Both states, although they do not have a direct border with the territory of Western Sahara, are sometimes involuntarily, as in the case of Tunisia, involved in the largest regional dispute, which to this day casts a shadow over relations in North Africa.

The unexpected occurrence of enigmatic ‘percevalicrinids’ (Echinodermata, Crinoidea) in the Lower Jurassic strata of North Africa — Implications for their stratigraphic and palaeogeographic distribution and discussion on their belonging to the subfamily Balanocrininae

The marl and limestone alternations of the Lower Jurassic Ain Ouarka and Ain Rhezala formations (Pliensbachian–Toarcian) in the western Saharan Atlas, Northwest Algeria, yield a diverse micro- and macrofauna, including moderately numerous crinoids, which are represented by remains of isocrinids, i.e., Balanocrinus ticinensis Hess and columnals of the genus Percevalicrinus. So far, the latter genus has been observed from the Upper Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous strata of Eurasia, North America, and the African continent. Thus, the present find is the oldest record of this crinoid genus, and the second one from the southern Tethyan margin. In this paper, it is shown that Percevalicrinus, which is traditionally regarded as a representative of the subfamily Balanocrininae, displays several features of the subfamily Isocrininae. The crinoid assemblage and associated facies and invertebrate fauna are typical of a low-energy deep outer shelf/ramp (below the storm wave-base) setting.

Autobiographical Therapeutic Performance in Armed Conflicts: A Case Study with Western Saharan Refugees

Autobiographical Therapeutic Performance in Armed Conflicts: A Case Study with Western Saharan Refugees

Late Cenomanian–early Turonian ammonites from the Western Saharan Atlas (Algeria)

ABSTRACT New palaeontological and biostratigraphic data from the Cenomanian–Turonian deposits of the western Saharan Atlas are presented in this study. More than 300 specimens of ammonites were collected from Kebeur es Seguia and Aïn El Orak sections, representing the Rhoundjaïa Formation. With the exception of the three ammonites previously described from the western Saharan Atlas by former authors [namely Neolobites vibrayeanus (d’Orbigny), Vascoceras gamai Choffat and Vascoceras cauvini Chudeau], nine additional ammonite species [Calycoceras (Calycoceras) cf. naviculare (Mantell), Eucalycoceras cf. pentagonum (Jukes-Brown), Metoicoceras geslinianum (d’Orbigny), Nigericeras gadeni (Chudeau), Fikaites subtuberculatus (Collignon), Pseudaspidoceras pseudonodosoides (Choffat), Fagesia peroni Pervinquière, Fagesia tevesthensis (Peron) and Choffaticeras (Choffaticeras) sinaiticum (Douvillé)] are described and illustrated from the studied area. Biostratigraphic analysis revealed four ammonite biozones; three from the late Cenomanian namely, the Neolobites vibrayeanus Total Range Zone, the Metoicoceras geslinianum Total Range Zone and the Vascoceras cauvini Total Range Zone; and one from the early Turonian (earliest Turonian), the Choffaticeras sinaiticum Total Range Zone. The recognised ammonite zones demonstrate a significant palaeobiogeographical relationship between the studied area and other countries of North Africa, the Middle East, South America and southern Europe.

Między Marokiem a Algierią

Between Morocco and Algeria: Mauritania and the question of Western Sahara Following the change of government and the election of a new president, Mauritania makes it clear that it hopes to resolve the issue of Western Sahara, which has divided Morocco and Algeria since the mid-1970s and still poses a serious problem to Mauritanian foreign policy. Mauritania in this dispute is between the proverbial rock and a hard place, trying not to come into conflict with any of the powerful neighbors, each of whom aspires to the role of a leader in the region. The conflict also casts a shadow on regional cooperation within the Arab Maghreb Union, which, if it functioned, could greatly help in the economic development of the region, especially important for the economically weakest Mauritania. Over the last few years, Nouakchott has maintained the position of the so-called “positive neutrality” which irritated the authorities in Rabat and created tense political relations with Morocco. The current striving for a more active role in the process of resolving the Western Saharan conflict seems to be largely dictated by the internal situation in Algeria and its troubles related to social protests demanding changes at the top of the government. Algeria has been the greatest ally of the Polisario Front and the Sahrawi cause so far. It is also not without significance that Morocco, after years of absence, returned to the African Union – the move, which definitely strengthened Morocco’s position among the countries of the continent.

Taxonomy, palaeoecology and palaeobiogeography of upper Cenomanian (Upper Cretaceous) oysters and plicatulids from southern Algeria

ABSTRACT Palaeontological investigation of four lithostratigraphic sections documenting the upper Cenomanian shallow marine carbonates of three palaeogeographic domains of southern Algeria (western Saharan Atlas, Guir Basin and Tinrhert Hamada) has produced a comprehensive collection of large bivalve assemblages for taxonomic purposes. A first inventory list of late Cenomanian oysters and plicatulids from southern Algeria is now available and consists of 15 taxa as follows: Lopha syphax, Ostreidae gen. et sp. indet., Curvostrea rouvillei, Flemingostreidae gen. et sp. indet., Costagyra olisiponensis, Amphidonta obliquata, Ceratostreon flabellatum, Ilymatogyra africana, Rhynchostreon suborbiculatum, Gyrostrea delettrei, Gyrostrea sp. indet., Pycnodonte (Phygraea) vesicularis vesiculosa, Plicatula (Plicatula.) auressensis, Plicatula (Plicatula) batnensis, and Chondrodonta? sp. indet. These taxa build five distinctive oyster-facies patterns, all purportedly recognisable in the field for stratigraphic assignment and regional correlation. Scarce sclerobiontic assemblage (borings: Entobia, Gastrochaenolites and Oichnus; and epibionts: juvenile oysters, serpulid tubes and Berenicean-type bryozoa) observed within these oyster shell assemblages is also identified, briefly described and adressed. This first taxonomic analysis highlights three main palaeogeographic components within these oyster- and plicatuloid-assemblages: endemic Mediterranean, Tethyan-Atlantic and cosmopolitan taxa. Moreover, the present study on these late Cenomanian oyster assemblages provides a first inventory list and stratigraphical baseline data towards further datation and correlation at the regional scale.

Lithostratigraphy and evolution of the Lower Cretaceous Basins, in Western Saharan Atlas, Algeria: A comment

Lithostratigraphy and evolution of the Lower Cretaceous Basins, in Western Saharan Atlas, Algeria: A comment

Microfacies and stable isotope features of the Lower–Middle Jurassic carbonate rocks of Western Saharan Atlas (Aïn Ouarka area, Algeria)

The Jurassic Lower Carbonate Group in the Aïn Ouarka area of Western Saharan Atlas, Algeria, is represented by six formations, from base to top: Hettangian Chemarikh Dolostone, Early Sinemurian–Pliensbachian Aïn Ouarka Limestone, Toarcian Aïn Rhezala Limestone, Aalenian–Late Bajocian Raknet El Kahla Limestone Breccia, Late Bajocian Theniet El Klakh, and Late Bajocian–Bathonian Tifkirt Limestone formations. From the microfacies analysis, six microfacies types (MF1–MF6) have been recognized and grouped into three associations developed during a transgressive–regressive cycle: (a) inner ramp facies association; (b) middle ramp facies association; and (c) outer ramp facies association. The mineralogical analysis of the carbonate rocks reveals that they contain mostly low‐Mg calcite associated with ankerite, pyrite, and other detrital minerals such as quartz, chlorite, illite, feldspar (albite), and a few clay minerals. These minerals could be related to the deep fluid and hydrocarbon circulations during deposition. The isotopic data display a variation of δ13C isotopic values between −5.14‰ and +2.21‰ (VPDB) and between −8.12‰ and −4.95‰ for δ18O values (VPDB). The set of δ13C values is similar to the signature of marine dissolved inorganic carbon. First of all, the positive values of δ13C show that the origin of carbon is not from the organic‐rich zone (microbial zone), but probably derived from pore‐water and/or biogenic carbonate precursors. On the other hand, the negative values of δ13C indicate that the carbon may result from organic sources linked to the sulphate reduction bacteria activity, or by a heightened volcanic and/or hydrothermal activities releasing light carbon (12C). The negative δ18O values are not consistent with marine water ambient temperature, but with a possible influence of diagenesis or increasing of temperature by hydrothermal water. This hydrothermal activity is controlled by synsedimentary faults during the Early Jurassic and related to a late pulse of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP) volcanism and by regional volcanism during the Middle Jurassic (Bajocian–Bathonian).

Bathymetric and Seismic Data, Heat Flow Data, and Age Constraints of Le Gouic Seamount, Northeastern Atlantic

Until the year 2019 only around 15% of the Earth’s seafloor were mapped at fine spatial resolution (<800 m) by multibeam echosounder systems (Wolfl et al., 2019). Most of our knowledge of global bathymetry is based on depths predicted by gravity observations from satellite altimeters. These predicted depths are combined with shipboard soundings to produce global bathymetric grids. The first topographic map of the world’s oceans so produced (Smith and Sandwell, 1997) had a resolution between 1 and 12 km, and subsequent improvements in data and filtering techniques led to several updates. The latest bathymetric grid of the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO_2020) uses the SRTM15+V2.0 data set, which has a grid spacing of 15 arc sec, equivalent to about 500 × 500 m at the equator (Tozer et al., 2019). This resolution does not imply that reliable depth data are available for each grid cell. There are vast areas of the oceans where the accuracy of these grids is limited by lacking shipborne multibeam data, which are needed for calibrating and ground-truthing predicted depths (Smith and Sandwell, 1994). The resolution and accuracy of the bathymetric grids are critical factors for global estimates of the number and size distribution of seamounts, in particular for small edifices of <1,000 m height (Wessel, 2001; Hillier and Watts, 2007; Kim and Wessel, 2011). A case in point is Le Gouic Seamount, located in the NE Atlantic about 100 km SW of Tropic Seamount on ca. 152 Ma crust, close to magnetic isochrone M24 (Bird et al., 2007). The seamount belongs to the Canary Island Seamount Province (CISP; van den Bogaard, 2013), also termed Western Saharan Seamount Province (WSSP) by some workers (e.g., Josso et al., 2019). It is listed in the Kim and Wessel (2011) seamount census with the ID KW-00902, located at 21.26216 ◦ W/23.0199 ◦ N, with a height of 498 m; hence it appears as a tiny cone in pre-2019 bathymetric grids (Figure 1a). After first mapping of large parts of the seamount by the French oceanographic survey vessel “Beautemps-Beaupre” in 2013, it is represented at its full height in the actual GEBCO_2020 grid, which is based on the SRTM15+V2.0 data set (Tozer et al., 2019). In this data report we present new multibeam bathymetric data for Le Gouic Seamount, mapping its full extent for the first time. The data were obtained during a transit of R/V METEOR cruise M146 in 2018. We also present a reflection seismic profile across the seamount that was shot during the mapping, and seafloor heatflow data obtained on a profile near the northeastern seamount base and co-located on the reflection profile. On the basis of this data we can place constraints on the age of the seamount, and speculate about possible rejuvenated magmatic activity.

Middle Jurassic (upper Bajocian) marine vetigastropods from the Western Saharan Atlas, Algeria

Whereas Middle Jurassic gastropods are very well known in Europe and other regions of the world, these faunas have been much less studied from northern Africa and most contributions available in literature have been based on relatively well-preserved material. Except a little lower Bajocian fauna from the Central High Atlas (Morocco) described at the turn of the 21th century, nothing is known about the Middle Jurassic gastropods of the southwestern Tethyan margin. The present paper aims to update the systematics of two vetigastropod species: Obornella cf. granulata (Sowerby, 1818) and Ambercyclus ornatus (Sowerby, 1819) recently found in the upper Bajocian succession of the Ksour Mountains (Tniet el Klakh Formation) at western Saharan Atlas (northern Algeria). The new Ambercyclus material found in well-preserved conditions confirms the absence of umbilicus in Ambercyclus; thus, we emend the original generic diagnosis. The specimens of Obornella cf. granulata and Ambercyclus ornatus represent the first occurrence of both genera and species in the upper Bajocian marine deposits of the western Saharan Atlas, and provide new taxonomic and palaeobiogeographic information about Middle Jurassic vetigastropods in Algeria.

Le passage cénomanien-turonien dans les Monts des Ksour (Atlas Saharien Occidental, Algérie): biostratigraphie, géochimie et milieux de dépôt

[fr] Dans les Monts des Ksour (Atlas saharien occidental), le passage cénomanien-turonien a été étudié sur le plan stratigraphique et géochimique à partir de deux coupes: Djebel M’daouer et Chebket Tamednaïa. Dans ces deux coupes, comme sur la plupart des plates-formes carbonatées peu profondes du domaine sud-téthysien, le faciès anoxique de la limite cénomanien-turonien matérialisé par des dépôts de “black-shales“ est absent. En plus, la rareté des données biostratigraphiques rend difficile l’établissement d’une biozonation détaillée pour les deux coupes étudiées. Les deux seuls niveaux à rares ammonites de la Formation de Ghoundjaïa dans la coupe de M’daouer ont permis de caractériser les zones à Vibrayeanus, à Gamai et à Cauvini. Donc pour les deux coupes, il parait utile de recourir à l’étude isotopique qui a montré une zone d’excursion positive du δ 13C s’étalant le long du Membre inférieur et la partie inférieure du Membre médian de la Formation de Ghoundjaïa. Cette zone d’anomalie est manifestée par trois pics marquants et caractéristiques du passage cénomanien-turonien et la limite entre ces deux étages se situe entre les pics 2 et 3 coïncidant avec le passage de la zone Gamai à la zone Cauvini. L’enregistrement de ces trois pics a rendu possible la corrélation locale de la coupe de Tamednaïa qui est dépourvue de faune valable sur le plan biostratigraphique.

Late Cenomanian rudists from southern Algeria: descriptions, biostratigraphy, palaeoecology and palaeobiogeography

A description of the upper Cenomanian rudist fauna from the western Saharan Atlas, Guir basin and Tinrhert Hamada (Saharan platform) in southern Algeria is presented here. The present study is documented from seven measured stratigraphic sections. The rudist-bearing limestones show different types of diagenetic alteration (e.g., silicification, dissolution and dolomitisation). The rudist fauna consists of canaliculate rudists (Caprinula boissyi, C. sharpei), radiolitids (Sauvagesia sharpei, S. nicaisei, Durania blayaci, D. arnaudi) and requieniids (Apricardia sp.) indicating a late Cenomanian age. The rudist-bearing limestones document an ecologic succession of three rudist biofacies: (B1) caprinulid biofacies, (B2) radiolitid biofacies and (B3) Apricardia biofacies. These are compared to the Cenomanian rudist-bearing successions from around the Mediterranean Tethys, and the palaeobiogeographic similarities with the western Mediterranean province are emphasized.

Looters vs. Traitors: TheMuqawama(“Resistance”) Narrative, and its Detractors, in Contemporary Mauritania

Abstract:Since 2012, when broadcasting licenses were granted to various private television and radio stations in Mauritania, the controversy around the Battle of Um Tounsi (and Mauritania’s colonial past more generally) has grown substantially. One of the results of this unprecedented level of media freedom has been the propagation of views defending the Mauritanian resistance (muqawamain Arabic) to French colonization. On the one hand, verbal and written accounts have emerged which paint certain groups and actors as French colonial power sympathizers. At the same time, various online publications have responded by seriously questioning the very existence of a structured resistance to colonization. This article, drawing predominantly on local sources, highlights the importance of this controversy in studying the western Saharan region social model and its contemporary uses.

Is It Possible to Become a Nurse in a Refugee Camp?

The history of the Western Sahara has been marked by several events that have contributed to the protracted refugee situation in which the Sahrawi people have found themselves since 1975: the Spanish colonization and the subsequent decolonization process, the armed struggles between the indigenous population and the states of Morocco and Mauritania to occupy Western Saharan territory, assassinations and repression of the Sahrawi population, and the economic interests of external agents with regards to mineral resources. Twenty-five years ago, in the hostile environment of the Sahrawi refugee camps, a nursing school was founded. Essentially depending on foreign aid, this school has been responsible for training nursing professionals to meet the healthcare needs of the population. The aim of this paper is to provide an approach to the origin and evolution of nursing education for the Sahrawi refugee camps. The Sahrawi are the only refugee camps in the world to host such nursing schools.

Découverte d’une nouvelle faune d’âge cénomanien dans la région de Forthassa (Atlas saharien occidental, Algérie) : Implications biostratigraphiques et paléoenvironnementales

The upper Cretaceous of the eastern part of the Ksour Mountains (Western Saharan Atlas, Algeria) is classically subdivided into three fossiliferous lithostratigraphic formations: El Rhelida (lower Cenomanian), Mdaouer (lower-middle Cenomanian) and Rhoundjaïa (upper Cenomanian-lower Turonian). The western part of the Ksour Mountains, which is less documented and poorly known, is here the subject of a detailed sedimentological and palaeontological study. Near Hassi Djeifa locality (Forthassa) the upper Cretaceous is represented by the upper part of Mdaouer Formation and by the lowermost part of Rhoundjaïa Formation. The deposits attributed to the Mdaouer Formation are composed of reddish or green marlstone intercalated by biolaminated limestone, bioclastic limestone with gastropods and bivalves, and sandstone. The selachians (Mafdetia tibniensis, Baharipristis bastetiae), pycnodontiform fishes, and ostracod fauna (Damonella spp., Ilyocypris? sp., Cypridea sp., Paracypria? sp.) coming from marly beds are studied in detail. The two selachian species (Order of Rajiformes) were so far restricted to the Early Cenomanian of Egypt. Our sedimentological and palaeontological data support a probable Early Cenomanian age of the studied deposits and indicate a coastal plain palaeoenvironment continually influenced by the action of tide.

Cost-effectiveness of birth-dose hepatitis B vaccination among refugee populations in the African region: a series of case studies

BackgroundHepatitis B affects 257 million people worldwide. Mother-to-child hepatitis B virus (HBV) transmission is a preventable cause of substantial morbidity and mortality and poses greatest risk for developing chronic HBV infection. The World Health Organization recommends that all countries institute universal hepatitis B birth dose (HepB BD) vaccination during the first 24 h of life, followed by timely completion of routine immunization. The objective of this analysis was to assess the cost-effectiveness of adding HepB BD vaccination among sub-Saharan African refugee populations where the host country’s national immunization policy includes HepB BD.MethodsWe performed a cost-effectiveness analysis of three hepatitis B vaccination strategy scenarios for camp-based refugee populations in the African Region (AFR): routine immunization (RI), RI plus universal HepB BD, and RI plus HepB BD only for newborns of hepatitis B surface antigen-positive mothers identified through rapid diagnostic testing (RDT). We focused analyses on refugee populations living in countries that include HepB BD in national immunization schedules: Djibouti, Algeria and Mauritania. We used a decision tree model to estimate costs of vaccination and testing, and costs of life-years lost due to complications of chronic hepatitis B.ResultsCompared with RI alone, addition of HepB BD among displaced Somali refugees in Djibouti camps would save 9807 life-years/year, with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of 0.15 USD (US dollars) per life-year saved. The RI plus HepB BD strategy among Western Saharan refugees in Algerian camps and Malian refugees in Mauritania camps would save 27,108 life-years/year with an ICER of 0.11 USD and 18,417 life-years/year with an ICER of 0.16 USD, respectively. The RI plus RDT-directed HepB BD was less cost-effective than RI plus delivery of universal HepB BD vaccination or RI alone.ConclusionsBased on our model, addition of HepB BD vaccination is very cost-effective among three sub-Saharan refugee populations, using relative life-years saved. This analysis shows the potential benefit of implementing HepB BD vaccination among other camp-based refugee populations as more AFR countries introduce national HepB BD policies.

The Cenomanian–Turonian transition in the carbonate platform facies of the Western Saharan Atlas (Rhoundjaïa Formation, Algeria)

Microfacies, fossil macroinvertebrates and microfossil assemblages (foraminifera and ostracods) and δ13C from the Rhoundjaia Formation (Ksour Mountains, Western Saharan Atlas, Algeria) were studied. During the Late Cenomanian–Early Turonian, the Ksour Basin was an isolated platform at mid to outer shelf depths. The neritic conditions were interrupted by pelagic conditions in transgressive intervals. This deepening of the palaeoenvironment is reflected by changes in the foraminiferal assemblages. The composition of benthic and planktic foraminiferal assemblages, characterized by low diversity and abundance of low oxygen tolerant species, reflects a carbonate platform with biotic stress conditions (oxygen and nutrient fluctuations and sea-level changes). Planktic foraminiferal assemblages are dominated by opportunists such as Muricohedbergella and Planoheterohelix, which colonized new ecospace on the shelf during the transgression. The Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 (OAE2) is not represented by organic rich facies but does coincide with the successive proliferation of different opportunist organisms such as microgastropods and small echinoid (hemiasterids) and the heterohelicid shift. The continuous presence of trace fossils (Thalassinoides and Planolites-like) and benthic macroinvertebrates allows us to exclude anoxic conditions during the Whiteinella archaeocretacea Zone. The proliferation of Planoheterohelix indicates the record of eutrophic conditions and the transition from oxygenated to poorly oxygenated waters during stratified open marine settings at the time of maximum flooding. The subsequent increase in thin-shelled bivalves and cytherellid ostracods would confirm the stress conditions at the time of the δ13C isotopic excursion in the upper part of the W. archaeocretacea Zone. The Lower Turonian is represented by a shallowing upward trend in the Ksour Basin. Comparison of the taxonomic composition of the planktic foraminiferal assemblages (phenogram and class diagram) indicates the high degree of relationship of the Ksour Basin with the Northeast Sicily Basin, Central Tunisia Basin and Egypt. This work sheds light on the impact of the OAE2-related environmental perturbation in environments where anoxic conditions were not reached, as well as the response of the fossil assemblages to the biotic crisis.

Reflections on BDS

Reflections on BDS