Sahara activist taken to hospital

SPAIN: Western Sahara independence activist Aminatou Haidar was taken to hospital at her own request early Thursday from the Spanish airport where she has been staging a hunger strike for more than a month, one of her aides said.

The aide, Edi Escobar, said Haidar was taken to hospital by ambulance shortly after midnight to be examined by doctors after suffering severe nausea and abdominal pains.

Hospital sources said she had also vomited blood. They said she is severely dehydrated but remains conscious, and emphasised that she would not be force-fed.

Escobar said Haidar plans to maintain the hunger strike she began on November 16 to force Morocco to allow her to return home. AFP