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Western Sahara is a Non Self-Governing Territory, which is disputed between Morocco and the indigenous Polisario independence movement. Formerly Spanish Sahara, Western Sahara was invaded by Morocco as the Spanish colonial authorities withrew from the territory in 1975. The Polisario take their name - the Popular Front for the Liberation of Sagia al-Hamra and Rio d'Oro - from the two historical regions which constitute the modern territory of Western Sahara. Having fought the Spanish authorities for independence during the period of European colonisation, the Polisario continued their military campaign against the Moroccan armed forces until the United Nations brokered a ceasefire between the warring parties in 1991. Since then, a UN observer force (MINURSO) has monitored the ceasefire and attempted - without success - to organise a referendum on independence for the territory. After many years of ostensible wrangling over who should be eligible to vote in any such referendum, negotiations have broken down, with Morocco offering limited autonomy for the territory as part of a "Greater Morocco" but refusing to entertain any possibility of full independence. The Polisario refuse to enter negotiations that do not include the prospect of full independence. The prospects for a negotiated resolution to the conflict currently appear remote.
DE FACTO PARTITION
In the 1980s the Moroccan armed forces began constructing defensive earthworks around key population centres and strategic locations. These were joined and extended, and now form a defensive wall (the "Berm") which extends for some 1500 km from southern Morocco and throughout Western Sahara to the border with Mauritania. This wall, manned by an estimated 160,000 Moroccan troops, divides Western Sahara into a Moroccan-occupied zone and a region controlled by the Polisario, known locally as the "Free Zone". The Berm is shown on the UN/MINURSO map on the right, although this represents it as contained within the territory of Western Sahara; in reality the Berm transits through the far north-western corner of Mauritania, northwest of Bir Maghrein, effectively annexing a small area of Mauritanian territory and separating the Northern and Southern Sectors of Western Sahara from each other. The Berm, and its transit through Maurtiania, is visible on Google Earth. However, the border between Western Sahara and Mauritania is effectively open, facilitating free movement betweeen the northern and southern sections of the Free Zone.
Some 90,000 Sahrawi - the indigenous population of Western Sahara - live in the Moroccan-occupied zone, which is also now home to a large number Moroccan settlers, encouraged to move into the region by the Moroccan authorities after the invasion and subsequent annexation of territory in the 1970s and 1980s. Many Sahrawi have emigrated; however, the majority of the Sahrawi population - estimated at around 165,000 people - now live in exile in refugee camps around the Algerian town of Tindouf.
The Free Zone of Western Sahara remains sparsely populated due to the lack of resources, principally water, the possibility of renewed conflict, and the risk posed by landmines and unexploded ordnance in many areas. Nonetheless, it is common for Sahrawi from the refugee camps in Algeria (and also for nomads from Mauritania) to travel to the Free Zone, for example to graze animals and set up temporary camps when environmental conditions permit. A small number Sahrawi live permanently in the Free Zone, and several thousand members of the Polisario military are believed to be present in the Free Zone at any given time, stationed at a few key military bases.
THE SADR
The Polisario forms the government-in-exile of the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), and claims the entire territory of Western Sahara, which it views as a country experiencing military occupation by a neighbouring power. Most African countries and a few other developing countries formally recognise the SADR, and the Polisario as its legitimate government. The SADR is a member of the African Union, and the territorial conflict in Western Sahara is viewed as a decolonisation issue by most African governments. The main supporter of the SADR is Algeria, which hosts the bulk of the Sahrawi refugees and the Polisario government-in-exile. No government has formally recognised Morocco's claim to Western Sahara, although France is a strong supporter of the Moroccan position, and the United States has voiced strong support for the Moroccan "autonomy plan", which promises limited self-government within a greater Morocco, but precludes any referendum on independence.
FURTHER INFORMATION
For more information on the current political situation and the historical context see:
- Shelley, T. 2004. Endgame in The Western Sahara: What Future for Africa's Last Colony , Zed Books.
- Hodges, T. 1983. Western Sahara: Roots of a Desert War. Lawrence Hill Books.
- Mercer, J. 1976. Spanish Sahara. Allen & Unwin.
- Brooks, N. 2005. Cultural heritage and conflict: The threatened archaeology of Western Sahara. The Journal of North African Studies 304, 413-439. Download pdf here (3.2 Mb)
- Wikipedia entry for Western Sahara.
- Western Sahara profile on BBC News website.
- Sand and Dust blog
- Western Sahara Info blog
- One Hump or Two blog
- Western Sahara Endgame blog
The content of external websites is not necessarily endorsed by the Western Sahara Project or the University of East Anglia.
United Nations Map of
Western Sahara
showing Moroccan-occupied areas and Polisario-controlled "Free Zone".
Click to enlarge.
Flag of the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
"All the Homeland or Martyrdom" - Polisario slogan above a rock shelter in the Southern Sector of the Free Zone
Moroccan fort on the Wall or Berm - the series of defensive works the Moroccan armed forces have constructed to separate the areas of Western Sahara occupied by Morocco from those controlled by the Polisario independence movement.