Disputed Western Sahara becomes kitesurfing hotspot

DAKHLA, Western Sahara: In the heart of disputed Western Sahara, a former garrison town has become an unlikely tourist magnet after kitesurfers discovered the windswept desert coast was perfect for their sport.

Tourist numbers have soared from 25,000 in 2010 to 100,000 today, according to a regional politician. Only the names of certain sites, like PK 25 , ruined forts in the dunes and the imposing and still in-use military buildings in Dakhla, remind tourists of the region's history of conflict. Without waiting for the political compromise that the UN has been negotiating for decades, hotels have sprouted from the sand along the coast, and rows of streetlights on vacant lots announce future subdivisions."The secret to success is to develop kitesurfing with good communication focused on the organisation of non-political events," said Driss Senoussi, head of the Dakhla Attitude hotel group.

That angers the Polisario, which wants independence for the disputed region and tried last year in vain to sue businesses it said were"accomplices to the occupying military power."

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