Spanish reporters taken in for questioning in Western Sahara

Three Spanish radio reporters from the private network SER, who successfully broke through Morocco's ban on journalists and reached the riot-torn Western Sahara capital of Laâyoune, were taken in yesterday for questioning by Moroccan security forces. The reporters - Àngels Barceló, Nicolás Castellano y Ángel Cabrera - were neither detained nor arrested, but instead went voluntarily to police headquarters with the officers, according to sources at SER.

The radio network, owned by Grupo PRISA (which also owns EL PAÍS), said that the reporters had told Moroccan authorities that they were traveling to the region and had requested an interview with the local governor. SER began reporting live early Thursday morning from Laâyoune, the scene of violent disturbances since Monday when Moroccan authorities forcibly expelled Sahrawi protesters from a camp outside the city.

The actual number of victims and injured is not known. At least 163 people have been detained, Moroccan authorities said. Castellano reported that Laâyoune, which is "normally filled with people and noise," was "silent and filled with anti-riot police."

The government sent former Foreign Minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos to Algeria, which supports Western Sahara's pro-independence Polisario Front, "to help" find a solution to the crisis, Cabinet chief Ramón Jáuregui said on Thursday.