Western Sahara conflict

Armed conflict between Morocco and the Polisario Front

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Western Sahara conflict" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (October 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (October 2021)

|

(Learn how and when to remove this message)

Western Sahara conflict

Gathering of Sahrawi troops, near Tifariti (Western Sahara), celebrating the 32nd anniversary of the Polisario Front (2005).
| Date| 17 June 1970 – present
(54 years, 11 months, 1 week and 5 days)

|

Location|

Western Sahara

Result|

Ongoing

* Zemla Intifada (1970)
* Sahrawi insurgency (1973–1976)
* Invasion and occupation of Western Sahara (1975)
* Western Sahara War (1975–1991)
* Annexation of Western Sahara by Morocco and Mauritania
* Mauritania's withdrawal of Western Sahara (1979)
* First Sahrawi Intifada (1999–2004)
* Second Sahrawi Intifada (2005)
* Moroccan Western Sahara Wall sand wall built by Morocco
* Protests erupt against Morocco in Western Sahara (2011)
* Western Saharan clashes (2020–present) end of ceasefire

Belligerents

Morocco
Mauritania (1975–79)
Supported by:
France (1977–78)
United States
Saudi Arabia[1][2][3]

* * *

Spain (1970–1975)|  Sahrawi Republic
Supported by:
Algeria (1976–)[4][5]
Libya (1976–1984)[6]
Commanders and leaders

Francisco Franco # (1970–75)

* * *

Mohammed VI (1999–present)
Hassan II # (1970–99)
Ahmed Dlimi # (1970–83)
Abdelaziz Bennani (1983–2014)
Bouchaib Arroub (2014–17)
Abdelfattah Louarak (2017–21)
Belkhir El Farouk (2021–2023)
Mohammed Berrid (2023–)
Mokhtar Ould Daddah (1970–78)
Mustafa Ould Salek (1978–79)
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing (1977–78)|  Brahim Ghali (2016–present)
Mohamed Abdelaziz # (1976–2016)
El-Ouali Mustapha Sayed † (1976)
Lahbib Ayoub (-2002)
Houari Boumediène # (1970–78)
Strength

3,000 troops (1973)

* * *

30,000 (1976)[7]
150,000 (1988)[8]
3,000[9]–5,000[7] (1976)
18,000 (1978)[10]|  5,000 (1976)[11]
Casualties and losses
Unknown
2,155[12]–2,300 captured[13]
2,000 soldiers killed[14]|  Unknown
Total: 14,000–21,000 killed overall
40,000 (1976);[15] 80,000 (1977)[16] refugees

* v
* t
* e

Western Sahara conflict

* Zemla Intifada
* Sahrawi insurgency
* Western Sahara War
* First Sahrawi Intifada
* Second Sahrawi Intifada
* Gdeim Izik protest camp
* 2011 Western Saharan protests
* Western Saharan clashes (2020–present)
* Timeline

Part of a series on the

Western Sahara conflict
Background

* Spanish Sahara
* Greater Morocco
* Greater Mauritania
* Moroccan Army of Liberation
* Movement for the Liberation of
Saguia el Hamra and Wadi el Dhahab

* Polisario Front
* Sahrawi National Union Party
* Madrid Accords
* Partition agreement

Regions

* Saguia el-Hamra
* Río de Oro
* Southern Provinces
* Tiris al-Gharbiyya
* Free Zone

Politics

* Annexation of Western Sahara
* Political status of Western Sahara
* Foreign relations of Morocco
* Makhzen
* Politics of the SADR
* Royal Advisory Council
for Saharan Affairs

Clashes

* Ifni War
* Zemla Intifada
* Western Sahara War
* First Intifada
* Independence Intifada
* Gdeim Izik
* Arab Spring protests
* 2020–present clashes
* Timeline

Issues

* Refugees
* camps
* Sahrawi nationality
* Green March
* Moroccan settlers
* Moroccan Wall
* Human rights

Peace process

* UN resolutions
* UN visiting mission
* UN referendum mission
* ICJ Advisory Opinion
* Settlement Plan
* Houston Agreement
* Baker Plan
* Manhasset negotiations
* Autonomy Proposal

* v
* t
* e

The Western Sahara conflict is an ongoing conflict between the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic/Polisario Front and the Kingdom of Morocco. The conflict originated from an insurgency by the Polisario Front against Spanish colonial forces from 1973 to 1975 and the subsequent Western Sahara War against Morocco between 1975 and 1991. Today the conflict is dominated by unarmed civil campaigns of the Polisario Front and their self-proclaimed SADR state to gain fully recognized independence for Western Sahara.

The conflict escalated after the withdrawal of Spain from the Spanish Sahara in accordance with the Madrid Accords. Beginning in 1975, the Polisario Front, backed and supported by Algeria, waged a 16-year-long war for independence against Mauritania and Morocco. In February 1976, the Polisario Front declared the establishment of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, which was not admitted into the United Nations, but won limited recognition by a number of other states. Following the annexation of Western Sahara by Morocco and Mauritania in 1976, and the Polisario Front's declaration of independence, the UN addressed the conflict via a resolution reaffirming the right to self-determination of the Sahrawi people.[17] In 1977, France intervened as the conflict reached its peak intensity. In 1979, Mauritania withdrew from the conflict and territories, leading to a stalemate through most of the 1980s. The Polisario Front and the Moroccan government reached a cease-fire agreement after several more engagements between 1989 and 1991. At the time, most of the Western Sahara remained under Moroccan control, while the Polisario controlled some 30% of the territory in its capacity as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.[18] At present, these borders are largely unchanged.

Despite multiple peace initiatives through the 1990s and early 2000s, the conflict reemerged as the "Independence Intifada" in 2005; a series of disturbances, demonstrations and riots, which broke out in May 2005 in the Moroccan-held portions of Western Sahara, and lasted until November of that same year. In late 2010, the protests re-erupted in the Gdeim Izik refugee camp in Western Sahara. While the protests were initially peaceful, they were later marked by clashes between civilians and security forces, resulting in dozens of casualties on both sides. Another series of protests began on 26 February 2011, as a reaction to the failure of police to prevent anti-Sahrawi looting in the city of Dakhla, Western Sahara; protests soon spread throughout the territory. Though sporadic demonstrations continue, the movement had largely subsided by May 2011.

To date, large parts of Western Sahara are controlled by the Moroccan Government and known as the Southern Provinces, whereas some 30% of the Western Sahara territory remains controlled by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), the Polisario state with limited international recognition. The questions of mutual recognition, establishment of a possible Sahrawi state and the large numbers of Sahrawi refugees displaced by the conflict are among the key issues of the ongoing Western Sahara peace process.

## Background

[edit]

### Spanish Sahara

[edit]

Main articles: Spanish Sahara, Ifni War, and Zemla Intifada

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (July 2013)

|

In 1884, Spain claimed a protectorate over the coast from Cape Bojador to Cap Blanc. Later, the Spanish extended their area of control. In 1958, Spain merged the previously separate districts of Saguia el-Hamra (in the north) and Río de Oro (in the south) to form the province of Spanish Sahara.

Raids and rebellions by the indigenous Sahrawi population kept the Spanish forces out of much of the Spanish-claimed territory for a long time. Ma al-Aynayn the Saharan pro-Moroccan caïd of Tindouf and Smara named by the Moroccan sultan started an uprising against the French in 1910 in response to French attempts to expand their influence and control in North-West Africa. Ma al-Aynayn died in October 1910, and his son El Hiba succeeded him. El Hiba's forces were defeated during a failed campaign to conquer Marrakesh, and in retaliation French colonial forces destroyed the holy city of Smara in 1913.[19] The city was promptly rebuilt[citation needed], and Sahrawi resistance continued for the following twenty years. The rebellious territory was finally subdued in 1934, after joint Spanish and French forces destroyed Smara for a second time. In 1956, the Ifni War, initiated by the Moroccan Army of Liberation, marked renewed conflict in the region; after two years of war, the Spanish forces regained control, again with French aid. However, unrest lingered among the region's population, and in 1967 the Harakat Tahrir arose to challenge Spanish rule peacefully. After the events of the Zemla Intifada in 1970, when Spanish police forcibly disbanded the organization and "disappeared" its founder, Muhammad Bassiri, Sahrawi nationalism again swung towards militarism.

### Polisario Front

[edit]

Main article: Polisario Front

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (July 2013)

|

The group was preceded by an earlier separatist group called Movement for the Liberation of Saguia el Hamra and Wadi el Dhahab. In 1971, a group of young Sahrawi students in the universities of Morocco began organizing what came to be known as The Embryonic Movement for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Rio de Oro.[20] After attempting in vain to gain backing from several Arab governments, including both Algeria and Morocco itself, the movement only succeeded in obtaining support from Libya and Mauritania. As a result of this ambivalence, the movement eventually relocated to Spanish-controlled Western Sahara to start an armed rebellion. Women in Western Sahara are prominent members of the Polisario Front as soldiers and activists.[21]

A UN mission in June 1975 declared that there was "overwhelming consensus" in support of independence for Sahrawi independence and that the Polisario front was the most powerful political force in country.[22] The group established a close relationship with Algeria in 1975. In 1976, Algeria called the Moroccan takeover of Western Sahara a "slow, murderous" invasion.[23]

## Conflict

[edit]

### Beginnings of armed struggle

[edit]

Main article: Sahrawi insurgency (1973–1976)

The Polisario Front was formally constituted on 10 May 1973 in the Mauritanian city of Zouirate,[24] with the express intention of militarily forcing an end to Spanish colonization. Its first Secretary General was El-Ouali Mustapha Sayed, who led an armed insurgency against Spanish colonization. On 20 May he led the Khanga raid, the Polisario's first armed action,[25] in which a Spanish post manned by a team of Tropas Nomadas (Sahrawi-staffed auxiliary forces) was overrun and a cache of rifles seized. The Polisario gradually gained control over large swaths of the Western Saharan desert, and its power grew steadily after early 1975 when the Tropas Nomadas began deserting en masse to the Polisario Front, bringing their weapons and training with them.[citation needed] At this point, the maximum extent of the Polisario Front's manpower included perhaps 800 men, but they were backed by a larger network of supporters.[citation needed] The 1975 United Nations visiting mission to Spanish Sahara, headed by Simeon Aké, concluded that Sahrawi support for independence (as opposed to Spanish rule or integration with a neighboring country) amounted to an "overwhelming consensus" and that the Polisario Front was by far the most powerful political force in the country.[26]

### Western Sahara War

[edit]

Main article: Western Sahara War

Western Sahara women with weapons, 2021.

The Western Sahara War was an armed conflict, lasting from 1975 to 1991, fought primarily between the Polisario Front and Morocco. The conflict erupted after the withdrawal of Spain from the Spanish Sahara in accordance with the Madrid Accords, by which it agreed to give administrative control of the territory to Morocco and Mauritania. The Polisario Front, backed by Algeria and Libya, desiring instead the establishment an independent Sahrawi state in the territory, fought both Mauritania and Morocco in quick succession, in an attempt to drive their forces out of the region. In 1979, Mauritania withdrew its forces from the disputed territory, and the Polisario Front and Morocco reached a ceasefire agreement in 1991. The war resulted in somewhere between 14,000 and 21,000 casualties between both sides.[citation needed]. Some 40,000–80,000[citation needed] Sahrawi refugees were displaced as a result of the conflict; at present, most still reside in various Sahrawi refugee camps throughout the Tindouf province of Algeria.

### First Sahrawi Intifada

[edit]

Main article: First Sahrawi Intifada

The First Sahrawi Intifada began in 1999 and lasted until 2004,[27] transforming into the Independence Intifada in 2005. The First Sahrawi Intifada formed a part of the wider and still ongoing Western Sahara conflict.

### Independence Intifada

[edit]

Main article: Independence Intifada (Western Sahara)

The Independence Intifada[2] or the Second Sahrawi Intifada (intifada is Arabic for "uprising") and also May Intifada[28] is a Sahrawi activist term for a series of disturbances, demonstrations and riots which broke out in May 2005 in the Moroccan-controlled parts of Western Sahara. During the events one civilian was killed and hundreds wounded.

### Gdeim Izik and Arab Spring protests

[edit]

Main articles: Arab Spring, Gdeim Izik protest camp, and 2011 Western Saharan protests

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (July 2012)

|

The Gdeim Izik protest camp was established in Western Sahara on 9 October 2010 and lasted into November, with related incidents occurring in the aftermath of its dismantlement on 8 November 2010. According to Human Rights Watch, the Moroccan security forces moved to dismantle the Gdeim Izik tent camp. Approximately 6,500 tents Sahrawis had erected in early October to protest their social and economic conditions in Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara. While protests were initially peaceful, they were later marked by clashes between civilians and security forces. Eleven security officers and at least two civilians were killed, by official count. Many public and private buildings and vehicles were burned in the city.[29]

In 2011, new protests erupted again on 26 February, as a reaction to the failure of police to prevent anti-Sahrawi looting and rioting in the city of Dakhla, Western Sahara, and blossomed into protests across the territory. These protests are considered the Western Saharan branch of the Arab Spring series of popular demonstrations and uprisings. Despite an initial outburst of support, the 2011 protests largely subsided on their own by May 2011.

### End of ceasefire

[edit]

Main article: 2020 Western Saharan clashes

On 14 November 2020, SADR president Brahim Ghali announced that he had signed a decree bringing the 29 year old ceasefire to an end, citing an incident two days prior in which the Moroccan army forcibly entered a crossing within the buffer zone that was being blocked by protesters—acts which the SADR considered a declaration of war. The SADR claims the Moroccan-built road is illegal, as it was built after the 1991 United Nations-brokered truce. Morocco, however, claims that it will still abide by the ceasefire and alleges that the army was simply trying to re-open the road to traffic. The Sahara Press Service later said that Polisario fighters had attacked Moroccan positions along different parts of the frontline, which stretches hundreds of miles across the desert. The Moroccan government has not yet commented on these claims.[30][31][32]

## Foreign actors

[edit]

### Algeria

[edit]

Main articles: Algeria–Morocco relations and Algeria–Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic relations

Algeria sees itself as an "important actor" in the conflict,[33] and officially supports the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination. The efforts invested by Algeria in the Western Sahara conflict, especially at the level of its international relations, are comparable to the ones of an involved party such as Morocco.

Morocco's position is that Algeria is part of the conflict and uses the Sahara issue for geopolitical interests that date from the Cold War, claiming that this country in its official communication to the United Nations "presents itself sometimes as 'a concerned party,' other times as an 'important actor,' or as a 'party' in the settlement of the dispute".[34] The United Nations has only ever officially considered Morocco and the Polisario Front parties to the conflict, however acknowledges that other interests may also be involved.

Although the United Nations officially considers Morocco and the Polisario Front as the main parties to the conflict, former UN Secretary-General Mr. Kofi Annan viewed Algeria as a stakeholder in the Western Sahara conflict and has invited Algeria, "to engage as a party in these discussions and to negotiate, under the auspices of my Kofi Annan's Personal Envoy".[35] In an interview with the Public Broadcasting Service, in August 2004, James Baker, former personal envoy of the United Nations Secretary to Western Sahara, identified Morocco and Algeria as being both the "two chief protagonists" of the conflict.[36] Some third parties have called for both Morocco and Algeria to negotiate directly to find a solution for the conflict.[37] Since the end of 2016, the UN has gathered stakeholders around roundtables organized in Geneva. The main novelty is that Algeria has been invited to these round tables. Algeria has refused to qualify itself as a "stakeholder" and has defined itself as an "observer". The first roundtable was held on 5 and 6 December, while a new roundtable was scheduled for 21 and 22 March.

The refugee camps are located in Algeria and the country has armed, trained, and financed the Polisario for more than thirty years.[38][39] More than two thousand Moroccan prisoners of war were previously detained on Algerian soil in Polisario camps,[40] but all POWs have since been released.

In response to the Green March and the ongoing disputed status of Western Sahara, Algeria has expropriated the property of and forcibly expelled tens of thousands of Moroccan civilians since 1975.[41][unreliable source?][42] This remains a source of much tension between the two countries.

Even though Algeria has no official claim to Western Sahara, some experts see that the Sahara conflict represents a domestic political issue for the country.[43][44] Stressing the role played by Algerian officers in allegedly interrogating and torturing the Moroccan POWs, France Libertés states in its report on The Conditions of Detentions of the Moroccan POWs Detained in Tindouf (Algeria) that "the involvement of Algeria in the conflict is well known".[45] In March 2003 Khaled Nezzar, an Algerian retired general, referred to the conflict as being an issue only between Morocco and Algeria.[46]

In January and February 1976, there were direct battles in Amgala between the armies of these two countries.[46] Morocco claims to have captured "dozens of Algerian officers and non-commissioned officers and soldiers" during these confrontations, but has released them to Algerian authorities.[34]

### Spain

[edit]

Main article: Morocco–Spain relations

In 2011, Spanish Foreign Minister Trinidad Jiménez called for a U.N. committee to evaluate the security situation in the Polisario-controlled refugee camps in Tindouf (Algeria) and probe possible corruption in the distribution of international aid there.[47] The statement by Jiménez came two days after two Spanish aid workers and one Italian were kidnapped by suspected al-Qaeda members in Tindouf, which is under the control of Polisario Front, which seeks the independence of Western Sahara from Morocco.

### Arab League

[edit]

Efforts to gain support in the Arab World for the idea of a Greater Morocco did not receive much support despite efforts in the early 1960s to enlist the Arab League for its cause.[48] Morocco's expansionist ambitions caused strains, including a temporary rupture of relations with Tunisia. The Moroccans have been more successful regarding the Western Sahara. Unlike the Organization of African Unity which has strongly backed Western Sahara's right to self-determination, the Arab League has shown little interest in the area.[48]

### Moroccan claims

[edit]

Morocco has argued that the Polisario Front receives support from Hezbollah, Iran, and al-Qaida.[49][50] There is no third-party substantiation of these claims.[51][52][53][54]

### State of Palestine

[edit]

Main article: Palestine–Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic relations

In 1979, PFLP Secretary-General George Habash visited Sahrawi refugee camps and also met with Brahim Ghali assuring PFLP's support to Western Sahara's cause. Other Palestinian Factions though have taken different stance; for example Hamas has maintained close ties with Moroccan Justice and Development Party(JDP) and has also banned activities of Palestinian Committee of solidarity with Sahrawi people in Gaza, since year 2016.[55][56]

### African consulates

[edit]

In March 2020 Liberia opened a consulate for Morocco in the city of Dakhla,[57] becoming the 10th African country to establish a diplomatic mission to Morocco in Western Sahara effectively recognizing the Moroccan mission in the region. The opening of the consulate was condemned by international representatives of both the Polisario Front and Algeria.[58]

### European Union

[edit]

Members of European Parliament passed the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement (SFPA) in February 2019 which established an agreement for European Fishing vessels to fish in Moroccan territory and laid out plans for a transition towards a sustainable fishing model.[59] Although the Polisario Front was not involved in the negotiations, the SFPA explicitly allows for European Vessels to fish in the disputed coast of the Western Sahara territory. The NGO Human Rights Watch penned a letter to European Members of Parliament seeking a vote against the proposition, arguing that Morocco has no legal basis to make agreements regarding a disputed territory and is thus illegal under international law.[60] While the text of the agreement claimed that the fisheries will have no impact on the ongoing conflict, the agreement was denounced by various Saharawi groups. After the passing of the agreement a petition signed by leading Saharawi activist organizations in the region was penned to the EU condemning the decision,[61] and the Polisario Front announced it will challenge the vote in the European Court of Justice stating it was in clear violation of international law.[62] This move galvanized Morocco who then passed a law in January 2020 extending its recognized borders across Western Saharan waters.[63]

### United States

[edit]

The Obama administration disassociated itself from the Moroccan autonomy plan in 2009, however, reversing the Bush-backed support of the Moroccan plan, and returning to a pre-Bush position, wherein the option of an independent Western Sahara is on the table again.[64]

In April 2013, the United States proposed that MINURSO monitored human rights (as all the other UN mission since 1991) in Western Sahara, a move that Morocco strongly opposed, cancelling the annual African Lion military exercises with U.S. Army troops.[65] Also in mid-April, United States Ambassador to Morocco Samuel L. Kaplan declared during a conference in Casablanca that the Moroccan autonomy plan "can't be the only basis in these negotiations", referring to the UN sponsored talks between the Polisario Front and Morocco.[66]

On 10 December 2020, President Donald Trump announced that the United States would officially recognize Morocco's claims over Western Sahara, in exchange for Morocco agreeing to normalize relations with Israel.[67][68]

On 4 December 2020, the United States has recognized Moroccan sovereignty over the entire Western Sahara territory and has reaffirmed its support for Morocco's autonomy proposal as the only basis for a just and lasting solution to the dispute over the Western Sahara territory. The United States has stated that it believes that an independent Sahrawi State is not a realistic option for resolving the conflict and that genuine autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty is the only feasible solution.[69]

## Peace process

[edit]

Further information: Politics of Western Sahara and Western Sahara peace process

### Cease fire

[edit]

The cease fire ending hostilities was officially signed in 1991. Further attempts have since been made to resolve the conflict, but no lasting resolution has been achieved to date. The ceasefire was upheld until 13 November 2020 when the Moroccan army entered into the demilitarized town of Guerguerat, and the Saharawi authorities responded by declaring that the ceasefire was broken and the SPLA armed forces attacked Moroccan army positions along the Moroccan Western Sahara Wall.

### Referendum and Houston agreement

[edit]

Main articles: Settlement Plan, Houston Agreement, and MINURSO

The referendum, originally scheduled for 1992, was intended to give the local population of Western Sahara the option between independence or affirming integration with Morocco, but it quickly stalled.[70] In 1997, the Houston Agreement attempted to revive the proposal for a referendum, but likewise has not met with success. As of 2010[update], negotiations over the terms of any potential referendum have not resulted in any substantive action. At the heart of the dispute lies the question of who qualifies as a potential voter; the Polisario has insisted on only allowing those found on the 1974 Spanish Census lists (see below) to vote, while Morocco has insisted that the census was flawed by evasion and sought the inclusion of members of Sahrawi tribes which escape from Spanish invasion to the north of Morocco by the 19th century. Consequently, both sides blame each other for the stalling of the referendum, and little progress is likely to be made in the near future.

Efforts by the UN special envoys to find common ground between both parties did not succeed. By 1999 the UN had identified about 85,000 voters, with nearly half of them in the Moroccan-controlled parts of Western Sahara or Southern Morocco, and the others scattered between the Tindouf refugee camps, Mauritania and other locations throughout the world. The Polisario Front accepted this voter list, as it had done with the previous list presented by the UN (both of them originally based on the Spanish census of 1974), but Morocco refused. As rejected voter candidates began a mass-appeals procedure, the Moroccan government insisted that each application be scrutinized individually. Continuing disputes between the two factions once more brought the process to a halt.

According to a NATO delegation MINURSO election observers stated in 1999 that "if the number of voters does not rise significantly the odds were slightly on the SADR side".[71] By 2001, the process had reached a stalemate, and the UN Secretary-General asked the parties for the first time to explore other solutions. Indeed, shortly after the Houston Agreement (1997), Morocco officially declared that it was "no longer necessary" to include an option of independence on the ballot, offering instead autonomy. Erik Jensen, who played an administrative role in MINURSO, wrote that neither side would agree to a voter registration in which they believed they were destined to lose.[citation needed]

### Baker plan

[edit]

The Baker Plan (formally, Peace Plan for Self-Determination of the People of Western Sahara) was a United Nations initiative led by James Baker to grant self-determination to Western Sahara, and was formulated in the year 2000. It was intended to replace the Settlement Plan of 1991 and the Houston Agreement of 1997, which had effectively failed to make any lasting improvement. Since early 2005, the UN Secretary-General has not referred to the plan in his reports, and by now it seems largely dead. No replacement plan exists, however, and worries persist that the political vacuum will result in renewed fighting. Morocco continues to propose autonomy for the territory as the solution to the conflict, while the Polisario Front insists on nothing other than complete independence.

### Moroccan initiative and Manhasset negotiations

[edit]

Main articles: Moroccan Initiative for Western Sahara, United Nations Security Council Resolution 1754, and Manhasset negotiations

In 2006 the Moroccan Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs (CORCAS) proposed a plan for the autonomy of Western Sahara and made visits to a number of countries to explain and gather support for their proposal. Citing the Spanish approach to regional autonomy, the Moroccan government plans to model any future agreement after the cases of the Canary Islands, Basque Country, Andalusia or Catalonia. The plan was presented to the UN Security Council in April 2007,[72] and has received the backing of both the United States of America and France.[73]

On 30 April 2007, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1754, which both urged the involved parties to "enter into direct negotiations without preconditions and in good faith." and extended the MINURSO mission until 31 October 2007. As a result of the passage of this resolution, the parties involved met in Manhasset, New York to once again try and settle the dispute. The talks between the Moroccan government and the Polisario Front were considered the first direct negotiations in seven years between the two parties, and hailed as a landmark in the peace process.[74] Also present at the negotiations were the neighboring countries of Algeria and Mauritania, a nod to the role they play in the ongoing conflict. The first round of talks took place on 18–19 June 2007,[75] during which both parties agreed to resume talks on 10–11 August. After another inconclusive round of talks, the parties finally, on 8–9 January 2008, agreed on "the need to move into a more intensive and substantive phase of negotiations".[76] An additional round of talks was held from 18 to 19 March 2008, but once again no major agreement was reached.[77] The negotiations were supervised by Peter van Walsum, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's personal envoy for Western Sahara.[78] To date, all negotiations have failed to resolve the dispute.

### Peace talks resume

[edit]

In 2018 the United Nations Security Counsel announced that peace talks regarding the Western Sahara territory would resume and delegates of the Polisario Front, Morocco, Algeria, and Mauritania would all be present.[79]

In April 2020, the Polisario Front publicly condemned the state of the on-going peace talks stating that its inaction legitimized the encroachment of Morocco into the territory. The statement reiterated the Polisario Front's request that the UN organize a free referendum within Western Sahara on their self-governing status.[80] Currently the position of United Nations envoy to Western Sahara is empty and the Security Counsel is actively seeking a replacement.[81]

On 6 October 2021, United Nations Secretary‑General, António Guterres, announced the appointment of Staffan de Mistura as his Personal Envoy for Western Sahara.[82] On 13 January 2022, De Mistura commenced a round of discussions starting with Morocco's Foreign Minister, Nasser Bourita.[83] On 15 January 2022, de Mistura, met with Polisario's head of political organization, Khatri Addouh, in Shahid Al Hafed.[84]

## Current situation

[edit]

See also: Political status of Western Sahara

Map of Western Sahara

### Polisario-controlled areas

[edit]

Left a car of MINURSO, right a post of the Frente polisario in 2017 in southern Western Sahara

Main articles: Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Free Zone (region), and Sahrawi refugee camps

The Polisario controls about 30% of the Western Sahara territory,[18] as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), and claim sovereignty over the entire territory of Western Sahara. SADR was proclaimed by the Polisario Front on 27 February 1976, in Bir Lehlu, Western Sahara. Polisario calls the territories under its control the Liberated Territories or the Free Zone, while Morocco controls and administers the rest of the disputed territory and calls these lands its Southern Provinces. The SADR government considers the Moroccan-held territory to be occupied territory, while Morocco views the much smaller SADR-held territory as a buffer zone.[85]

In addition, the Polisario Front has a full autonomous control of the Sahrawi refugee camps. The refugee camps were set up in the Tindouf Province, Algeria in 1975–76 for the benefit of Sahrawi refugees fleeing from Moroccan forces during the Western Sahara War. With most refugees still living in the camps, the refugee situation is among the most protracted worldwide.[86][87] Most affairs and camp life organization is run by the refugees themselves, with little outside interference.[88] Women have been "responsible for much of the administration of the camps."[21]

### Moroccan Wall

[edit]

Main article: Moroccan Wall

The Western Sahara Berm, also known as the Moroccan Wall, is an approximately 2,700 km-long defensive structure consisting primarily of sand running through Western Sahara and the southeastern portion of Morocco. It acts as a separation barrier between the Moroccan-controlled areas and the Polisario-controlled section of the territory (the SADR). According to maps from MINURSO[89] or the UNHCR,[90] part of the wall extends several kilometers into internationally recognized Mauritanian territory. According to Pascal Bongard, program director at Geneva Call, between five and ten million land mines have been laid in the areas around the wall.[91]

As early as 1979, the idea of a defensive wall has been an obvious one for the Moroccan authorities. Constructed in six stages, from 1980 to 1987, five 'breaches' along the wall allow Moroccan troops the right of pursuit.[91] The Polisario call the Berm the "wall of shame" while Morocco calls it a "defensive wall", "wall of sand" or "security wall".[91]

### Human rights

[edit]

Main article: Human rights in Western Sahara

The Western Sahara conflict has resulted in severe human rights abuses, most notably the aerial bombardments with napalm and white phosphorus of the Sahrawi refugee camps,[92] the exodus of tens of thousands of Sahrawi civilians from the country, and the forced expropriation and expulsion of tens of thousands of Moroccan expatriate civilians by the Algerian government in reaction to the Green March. The conflict has witnessed numerous violations of human rights and serious breaches of the Geneva convention on the part of all involved parties; the Polisario Front, the Moroccan government and the Algerian government among them.[93]

### Media censorship

[edit]

Several international human rights organizations have accused the Moroccan government of imposing a media blackout in the region by targeting protestors and journalists.[94][95][96][97] A report by French non-profit Reporters Without Borders (RSF) which tracks the suppression of journalism around the world reported on a systematic targeting of journalists within Western Sahara and argued that the blocking of foreign media access to the region has made it difficult to receive accurate and consistent reporting from inside the disputed territory.

In 2019 Amnesty International called for an investigation into a violent crackdown on protestors that took place on 19 July, in the city of Laayoune.[96] The protests began as celebrations for Algeria's win in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, and eventually escalated into demonstrations for Sahrawi self-determination and clashes with Moroccan security forces. Footage from the clashes shows security forces using rocks, tear gas and live ammunition to disperse protestors.[96] The clashes led to the arrest of dozens of protestors and one death.[98]

Human Rights Watch has also been critical of the treatment of journalists during this conflict.[99] In 2019 they accused the government of using Article 381 of Morocco's penal code to restrict freedom of the press. Article 381 restricts citizens from claiming a profession without meeting the necessary qualifications. Human Rights Watch called on the Moroccan government to amend the article to ensure it did not apply to journalists. On 4 December 2018 Moroccan forces arrested Nezha El Khalidi under Article 381 for live-streaming a Sahrawi protest and subsequently failing to meet the qualifications of a journalist.[99] Spanish news agency Europa Press later criticized Moroccan authorities for expelling international observers from the public trail.[100]

in June 2019, a video of Moroccan authorities violently dragging and beating prominent Sahrawi journalist Walid Al-Batal circulated across the internet.[101] The video inspired condemnation from international rights groups who called for an investigation to be made and for Al-Batal to be released. Moroccan authorities rebutted the condemnation saying Al-Batal had crashed into a police car and resisted arrest, however these claims were disputed in an investigation on the incident published by The Washington Post.[102] Al-Batal was sentenced to six years in prison.

The Polisario Front has also been accused of suppressing media freedoms within its territories. In July 2019 the Polisario Front arrested three Saharawi activists within the refugee camps for criticizing the Polisario Front's governance in Facebook Posts. Human Rights Watch called for the release of the political prisoners reporting that they had been held in harsh conditions and tortured to sign confessions, a direct violation of international law.[103]

In the 2020 World Press Freedom Rankings reported on the treatment of journalists and independent media outlets in Morocco and Western Sahara rating it 133rd out of 180 countries. The country received a low score of 42.88 out of 100 citing the continued "judicial harassment" of the media.[104]

## See also

[edit]

* List of modern conflicts in North Africa
* Mohammed VI of Morocco

## References

[edit]

1. ^ David Dean (1 April 2002), The Air Force role in low-intensity conflict, DIANE Publishing, p. 74, ISBN 9781428928275
2. ^ Stephen Zunes ‏،Jacob Mundy (2010), Western Sahara: War, Nationalism, and Conflict Irresolution, Syracuse University Press, p. 44, ISBN 9780815652588
3. ^ "Gulf Arabs back Morocco in Western Sahara rift with U.N." Reuters. 21 April 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
4. ^ Maurice Barbier, Le conflit du Sahara Occidental, L'Harmattan, 1982,, p. 185, at Google Books ISBN 2-85802-197-X
5. ^ Alexander Mikaberidze, Conflict and Conquest in the Islamic World: A Historical Encyclopedia, ABC-CLIO, July 2011,, p. 96, at Google Books ISBN 978-1-59884-336-1
6. ^ Cooper & Grandolini (2018), p. 52.
7. ^ a b Paul, Jim; Paul, Susanne; Salek, Mohamed Salem Ould; Ali, Hadssan; Hultman, Tami (1976). "With the Polisario Front of Sahara". MERIP Reports (53). MERIP reports, JSTOR: 16–21\. doi:10.2307/3011206. JSTOR 3011206.
8. ^ Lewis, Paul (31 August 1988). "Sahara foes move to end their war". New York Times. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
9. ^ "Marruecos incrementa su presencia en Mauritania". El País (in Spanish). 21 July 1977. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
10. ^ Jose Ramón Diego Aguirre, Guerra en el Sáhara, Istmo, Colección Fundamentos, Vol. 124, 1991, Page 193
11. ^ "North Africa: Shadow war in the Sahara". Time. 3 January 1977. Archived from the original on 15 December 2008. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
12. ^ "Western Sahara, the facts". New Internationalist. No. 297\. 1 December 1997. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
13. ^ "El misterio de la guerra del Sáhara". El País (in Spanish). 10 September 2006. Retrieved 6 August 2010.
14. ^ J. David Singer, & Melvin Small (1982). Resort to Arms: International and Civil Wars, 1816–1980. Beverly Hills: Sage publications inc. ISBN 0-8039-1777-5.
15. ^ "Asistencia en favor de las víctimas saharauis". Revista Internacional de la Cruz Roja. 1 (2): 83. 7 February 1976. doi:10.1017/S0250569X00002491 - via Cambridge University Press.
16. ^ "Open Society Foundations" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
17. ^ ODS Team. "ODS HOME PAGE" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 February 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
18. ^ a b Kingsbury, D. (Ed.). (2016). Western Sahara: International Law, Justice and Natural Resources (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315660967
19. ^ <Ofozoba Chinonso: 2014>Cities, Western Sahara. "Smara :: History of the town". www.sahara-villes.com. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
20. ^ . 9 March 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220309205635/http://www.desaparecidos.org/sahara/basiri/. Archived from the original on 9 March 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2023. `{{cite web}}`: Missing or empty `|title=` (help)
21. ^ a b Morris, Loveday (16 July 2013). "Women on Frontline in Struggle for Western Sahara". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
22. ^ Shelley, Toby (2004). Endgame in the Western Sahara: what future for Africa's last colony. London: Zed Books [u.a.] ISBN 978-1-84277-340-6.
23. ^ "Article clipped from The Monroe News-Star". The Monroe News-Star. 1 January 1976. p. 32. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
24. ^ [1] Archived 4 October 2010 at the Wayback Machine
25. ^ "Saharawi Liberation Army | SADR Permanent Mission in Ethiopia and African Union". www.sadr-emb-au.net. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
26. ^ Tony Hodges, ed. (1983). Western Sahara: The Roots of a Desert War. Lawrence Hill Books. p. 199, referring to page 199 of the UN report. ISBN 0-88208-152-7.
27. ^ "Sahrawis campaign for independence in the second intifada, Western Sahara, 2005–2008". Retrieved 18 February 2015.
28. ^ "Western Sahara Between Autonomy and Intifada – Middle East Research and Information Project". 16 March 2007. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
29. ^ "Western Sahara: Beatings, Abuse by Moroccan Security Forces". Human Rights Watch. 26 November 2010. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
30. ^ Dahir, Abdi Latif (14 November 2020). "Western Sahara Ends Truce With Morocco". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
31. ^ "Polisario leader says Western Sahara ceasefire with Morocco is over". Reuters. 14 November 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
32. ^ Paget, Sharif; McCluskey, Mitchell (15 November 2020). "Western Sahara independence leader declares the end of a 29-year-old ceasefire with Morocco". CNN. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
33. ^ "United Nations General Assembly A/55/997" (PDF).
34. ^ a b "Memorandum of the Kingdom of Morocco on the regional dispute on the Sahara September 24, 2004". Archived from the original on 3 August 2009. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
35. ^ "United Nations – Security Council. Report of the Secretary-General on the situation concerning Western Sahara. (s/2001/613 Paragraph 54)". 20 June 2001.
36. ^ "Sahara Marathon: Host Interview Transcript". PBS. Archived from the original on 15 January 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
37. ^ "US Ambassador urges dialogue between Morocco and Algeria". Archived from the original on 8 January 2006. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
38. ^ "The Polisario Front – Credible Negotiations Partner or After Effect of the Cold War and Obstacle to a Political Solution in Western Sahara?" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 February 2012. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
39. ^ ESISC is a Brussels-based commercial firm in the domain of counselling, including among its clients the Moroccan embassy in Belgium
40. ^ "The Conditions of Detentions of the Moroccan POWs Detained in Tindouf (Algeria)" (PDF). Retrieved 18 February 2015.
41. ^ "Telquel – Maroc/Algérie.Bluff et petites manœuvres" (in French). Archived from the original on 15 January 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
42. ^ عمر الفاسي-الرباط (15 March 2006). جمعية لاسترداد ممتلكات المغاربة المطرودين من الجزائر (in Arabic). Aljazeera.net. Archived from the original on 22 March 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
43. ^ "Khadija Mohsen-Finan Le règlement du conflit du Sahara occidental à l'épreuve de la nouvelle donne régionale" (PDF). 5 July 2023.
44. ^ "Western Sahara impasse". January 2006. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
45. ^ "France Libertés – The Conditions of Detentions of the Moroccan POWs Detained in Tindouf (Algeria). P. 12" (PDF). Retrieved 18 February 2015.
46. ^ a b "United – France Libertés – The Conditions of Detentions of the Moroccan POWs Detained in Tindouf (Algeria). P. 12" (PDF). Retrieved 18 February 2015.
47. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2013.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
48. ^ a b Zunes, Stephen. "Algeria, the Maghreb Union, and the Western Sahara stalemate. – Arab Studies Quarterly (ASQ) – Nbr. 173". Law-journals-books.vlex.com. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
49. ^ "Morocco severs ties with Iran, accusing it of backing Polisario Front". Reuters. 1 May 2018.
50. ^ Meaghan Koudelka; Peter Sandby-Thomas (28 July 2018). "Morocco Flexes Its Muscles Over Western Sahara: An Analysis of Rabat's Standoff With Tehran". Jamestown Foundation. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
51. ^ Bourreau, Charlotte Bozonnet et Marie (23 May 2018). "Pourquoi le Maroc a rompu ses relations avec l'Iran". Le Monde.fr (in French). Retrieved 23 August 2018.
52. ^ Elena Fiddian-Qasmiyeh (2014). The Ideal Refugees: Gender, Islam, and the Sahrawi Politics of Survival. Syracuse University Press. p. 191\. ISBN 978-0-8156-5236-6.
53. ^ Paula Duarte Lopes; Stephen Villanueva Ryan (1 January 2009). Rethinking Peace and Security: New Dimensions, Strategies and Actors. Universidad de Deusto. p. 98\. ISBN 978-84-9830-474-9.
54. ^ "The EU, Morocco, and the Western Sahara: a chance for justice". ECFR. 10 June 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
55. ^ "Israel-Morocco deal: Palestinians and Sahrawis hope for renewed solidarity". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
56. ^ Lamin, Habibulah Mohamed (6 December 2016). "Palestinian-Sahrawi solidarity trumped by Morocco-Hamas power politics, campaigners allege". The New Arab. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
57. ^ "The Republic of Liberia Opens Consulate General in Dakhla". Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
58. ^ "New African consulates cause trouble for Western Sahara | DW | 31 March 2020". DW.COM. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
59. ^ "MEPs adopt new Fisheries Partnership with Morocco including Western Sahara | News | European Parliament". www.europarl.europa.eu. 2 December 2019. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
60. ^ "MEPs: Seek European Court's Opinion on EU-Morocco Fisheries Agreement's Compatibility with International Law". Human Rights Watch. 11 February 2019. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
61. ^ "98 Saharawi groups call on European Parliament to reject fish deal - wsrw.org". www.wsrw.org. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
62. ^ "EU-Morocco Fisheries Agreement: Polisario Front to file complaint before CJEU". Sahara Press Service. 14 April 2019. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
63. ^ "Morocco adds Western Sahara waters to its maritime borders | AW staff". AW. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
64. ^ "Obama reverses Bush-backed Morocco plan in favor of Polisario state". World Tribune. 9 July 2009. Archived from the original on 20 June 2010. Retrieved 3 July 2010.
65. ^ "U.S. proposes U.N. Western Sahara rights monitor; Morocco warns of "missteps"". Reuters. 16 April 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
66. ^ Morocco’s autonomy proposal "can’t be the only basis in these negotiations," says Samuel L. Kaplan Archived 1 July 2013 at archive.today Algerian Press Service, 16 April 2013
67. ^ "Trump announces Israel and Morocco will normalize relations". CNBC. 10 December 2020.
68. ^ Trew, Bel (10 December 2020). "Israel and Morocco agree to normalise relations in latest Trump-brokered deal". The Independent.
69. ^ "Proclamation on Recognizing The Sovereignty Of The Kingdom Of Morocco Over The Western Sahara". federalregister.gov. 15 December 2020.
70. ^ Reuters Editorial. "TIMELINE: Western Sahara, a 50-year-old dispute". U.S. Retrieved 12 May 2018. `{{cite news}}`: `|author=` has generic name (help)
71. ^ iBi Center. "NATO PA – Archives". Nato-pa.int. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
72. ^ full text of the plan: http://moroccanamericanpolicy.com/MoroccanCompromiseSolution041107.pdf Archived 6 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
73. ^ "News – Africa - Reuters.com". Reuters. Archived from the original on 11 May 2008. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
74. ^ "Morocco and Polisario Front to hold second meeting to resolve 32-year dispute" (PDF). International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 13 August 2007.
75. ^ Report of the Secretary General on the status of the negotiations on Western Sahara, 29 June 2007
76. ^ "Western Sahara: UN-led talks end with parties pledging to step up negotiations". UN News Centre. 9 January 2008. Retrieved 9 January 2008.
77. ^ "afrol News - W. Sahara talks continues". www.afrol.com.
78. ^ "Secretary-General appoints Peter van Walsum of the Netherlands as Personal Envoy for Western Sahara" (PDF). United Nations. Retrieved 13 August 2007.
79. ^ "First Western Sahara talks at UN in six years, begin in Geneva". UN News. 5 December 2018. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
80. ^ Thouraya, Chellouf. "Le Front Polisario déplore l'"inaction" et "le silence" du Conseil de sécurité". www.aps.dz (in French). Retrieved 13 May 2020.
81. ^ Kasraoui, Safaa (14 January 2020). "Search for New UN Personal Envoy for Western Sahara is Ongoing". Morocco World News. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
82. ^ "Secretary-General Appoints Staffan de Mistura of Italy Personal Envoy for Western Sahara | Meetings Coverage and Press Releases". www.un.org. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
83. ^ "UN envoy starts new effort to broker deal on Western Sahara". ABC News. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
84. ^ "UN should seek peaceful settlement based on failure of past approaches". Sahara Press Service. 16 January 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
85. ^ "Numerous reports from the Official Portal of the Government of Morocco refer to the area as a "buffer zone"". Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
86. ^ "UNHCR Algeria Factsheet". UNHCR. 1 August 2010.
87. ^ Eric Goldstein; Bill Van Esveld, eds. (2008). Human Rights in Western Sahara and in the Tindouf Refugee Camps. Human Rights Watch. p. 216\. ISBN 978-1-56432-420-7.
88. ^ Danielle Van Brunt Smith (August 2004). "FMO Research Guide, Western Sahara. IV. Causes and consequences". FMO, Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford. Archived from the original on 11 October 2008. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
89. ^ "Deployment of MINURSO" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 October 2007. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
90. ^ United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. "UNHCR – Western Sahara Atlas Map – June 2006". UNHCR. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
91. ^ a b c "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 8 January 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2012.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
92. ^ Jensen, Geoffrey (2013). "War and Insurgency in the Western Sahara". Current Politics and Economics of Africa. 6 (4). ProQuest 1623233837.
93. ^ "UN must monitor human rights in Western Sahara and Sahrawi refugee camps". www.amnesty.org. 26 April 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
94. ^ "Morocco/Western Sahara: Events of 2018". World Report 2019: Rights Trends in Morocco/Western Sahara. 17 December 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2020. `{{cite book}}`: `|website=` ignored (help)
95. ^ "UN peacekeeping force in Western Sahara must urgently monitor human rights". www.amnesty.org. 18 April 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
96. ^ a b c "Morocco/Western Sahara: Investigate brutal crackdown on Sahrawi protesters". www.amnesty.org. August 2019. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
97. ^ "RSF Report: Western Sahara, A News Blackhole | Reporters without borders". RSF. 11 June 2019. Archived from the original on 20 May 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
98. ^ "VP/HR - Human rights violations in Laayoune, Western Sahara". www.europarl.europa.eu. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
99. ^ a b "Morocco/Western Sahara: Law Misused to Silence Reporters". Human Rights Watch. 16 May 2019. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
100. ^ "PSIB critica la expulsión de Marruecos de los abogados que querían asistir como observadores al juicio contra Khalidi". Europa Press. 24 June 2019. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
101. ^ "Morocco/Western Sahara: Video Captured Police Violence". Human Rights Watch. 12 March 2020. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
102. ^ Cahlan, Sarah. "Analysis | Video contradicts Morocco's justification of a brutal beating in Western Sahara". Washington Post. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
103. ^ "Algeria/Western Sahara: Three Dissidents Behind Bars". Human Rights Watch. 16 July 2019. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
104. ^ "Morocco / Western Sahara : Judicial harassment | Reporters without borders". RSF. Retrieved 13 May 2020.

### Works cited

[edit]

* Cooper, Tom; Grandolini, Albert (2018). Showdown in Western Sahara. Volume 1: Air Warfare over the last African colony, 1945–1975. Warwick: Helion & Company Limited. ISBN 978-1-912390-35-9.

## Further reading

[edit]

* The mission's final report is archived in the General Assembly Official Records.
* United Nations Visiting Mission to Spanish Sahara, 1975, General Assembly, 30th Session, Supplement 23, UN DocumentA/10023/Rev.
* Tony Hodges (1983), Western Sahara: The Roots of a Desert War, Lawrence Hill Books (ISBN 0-88208-152-7)
* Anthony G. Pazzanita and Tony Hodges (1994), Historical Dictionary of Western Sahara, Scarecrow Press (ISBN 0-8108-2661-5)

## External links

[edit]

* In Western Sahara, a forgotten struggle The Washington Post video, 12 July 2013
* Chronology of the Saharawi struggle (BBC)

* v
* t
* e

Western Sahara articles

* Political status
* Sahrawi Republic
* Southern Provinces

History|

| Before 1975|

* Spanish Sahara (1884–1975)
* Colonial governors

|

1975|

* UN visiting mission (May)
* ICJ Advisory Opinion (October)
* Green March (November)
* Madrid Accords (November)

Since 1975|

* Western Sahara War (1975–1991)
* Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR, 1976–present)
* Berm (built 1981–1987)
* Settlement Plan (1991)
* UN referendum mission (MINURSO, 1991–present)
* Houston Agreement (1997)
* Baker Plan (2000/2003)
* UN Security Council Resolution 1495 (2003) / 1754 (2007)
* Manhasset negotiations (2007–2008)

Geography|

* Borders
* Cities
* Climate
* Ecoregions
* Wildlife

Politics|

* Human rights
* International recognition
* Legal status
* Moroccan Initiative
* Moroccan Western Sahara Wall
* Polisario Front
* former members
* Politics
* SADR
* President
* Prime Minister
* Sahrawi People's Liberation Army
* Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs (CORCAS)

Economy|

* Sahrawi peseta (currency)
* Telecommunications
* Transportation

Culture|

* Cuisine
* Demographics
* Music
* Sahrawi people

* Outline
* Bibliography

* Category
* Portal

* v
* t
* e

Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic articles

History|

| Before 1975|

* Colonial wars in Morocco
* Spanish Sahara (1884–1975)
* Spanish Morocco (1913–1956)
* Moroccan Army of Liberation
* Ifni War (1957–1958)

|

1975|

* UN visiting mission (May)
* ICJ Advisory Opinion (October)
* Green March (November)
* Madrid Accords (November)

Since 1975|

* Western Sahara conflict
* Western Sahara War (1975–1991)
* Berm (built 1981–1987)
* Western Sahara peace process
* Settlement Plan (1991)
* UN referendum mission (MINURSO, 1991–present)
* Houston Agreement (1997)
* Baker Plan (2000/2003)
* UN Security Council Resolution 1495 (2003) / 1754 (2007)
* Manhasset negotiations (2007–2008)

Geography|

* Borders
* Cities
* Climate
* Ecoregions
* Wildlife

Politics|

* Constitution
* Diplomatic relations
* International recognition
* Government
* Parliament
* Polisario Front
* Political status
* President
* Prime Minister

Economy|

| Infrastructure|

* Economy
* Sahrawi peseta (currency)
* Telecommunications
* Transportation

|

Society|

* Demographics
* Cuisine
* Human rights
* Music
* Sahrawi people

* Outline
* Bibliography

* Category
* Portal

* v
* t
* e

Post–Cold War conflicts in Africa

North Africa|

| Egypt|

* Egyptian Crisis (2011–2014)
* 2011 revolution
* Sinai insurgency (2011–present)
* Post-coup unrest (2013–2014)
* Terrorism in Egypt (2013–present)

|

Libya|

* 2008 Kufra conflict
* Libyan crisis
* 2011 civil war
* 2011–2014 factional violence
* 2014–2020 civil war

Western Sahara|

* Western Sahara conflict (1970–present)
* War, 1975–1991
* Clashes, 2020–present

Others|

* Algerian Civil War (1991–2002)
* Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002–present)
* Tunisian revolution (2010–2011)

West Africa|

| Nigeria|

* Communal conflicts in Nigeria (1998–present)
* Herder–farmer conflicts
* Religious violence
* Boko Haram insurgency (2009–present)
* Niger Delta conflict (2003–present)
* 2016 conflict
* Insurgency in Southeastern Nigeria (2021–present)

|

Mali|

* Tuareg rebellions
* 1990–1995
* 2007–2009
* 2012
* Mali War (2012–present)

Sierra Leone|

* Ndogboyosoi War
* Sierra Leone Civil War

Liberia|

* Liberian Civil Wars
* 1989–1996
* 1999–2003

Côte d'Ivoire|

* Ivorian Civil Wars
* 2002–2007
* 2010–2011

Others|

* Guinea-Bissau Civil War (1998–1999)
* Guinea clashes (2013)
* Casamance conflict (1982–present)
* 2016–2017 Gambian constitutional crisis
* ECOWAS military intervention
* Western Togoland Rebellion (2020–present)

Central Africa|

| Angola|

* Angolan Civil War (1975–2002)
* Cabinda War (1975–present)

|

DR Congo|

* First Congo War (1996–1997)
* Allied Democratic Forces insurgency (1996–present)
* Second Congo War (1998–2003)
* Ituri conflict (1999–2007)
* Kivu conflict (2004–present)
* Dongo conflict (2009)
* Ituri conflict (2009–present)
* March 23 Movement conflict
* 2012–2013 rebellion
* 2022–present campaign
* Batwa–Luba clashes (2013–2018)
* Kamwina Nsapu rebellion (2016–2019)
* Western DR Congo clashes (2022–present)

Republic
of the Congo|

* Civil wars
* 1993–1994
* 1997–1999
* Pool Department conflict (2002–2003)
* Pool War (2016–2017)

Central African
Republic|

* Bush War (2004–2007)
* Civil War (2012–present)
* Djotodia period, 2013–2014

Chad|

* Civil War (2005–2010)
* Insurgency in Chad (2016–present)
* 2021 offensive

Others|

* Anglophone Crisis (Cameroon)
* Lord's Resistance Army insurgency (1987–present)
* Boko Haram insurgency (2009–present)

East Africa|

| Ethiopia|

* Oromo conflict
* OLA insurgency, 2018–present
* Insurgency in Ogaden (1994–2018)
* Second Afar insurgency (1995–2018)
* Eritrean–Ethiopian border conflict (2000–2018)
* War, 1998–2000
* Ethiopian civil conflict (2018–present)
* Afar–Somali clashes
* Benishangul-Gumuz conflict
* Oromo–Somali clashes
* Tigray war
* War in Amhara

|

Somalia|

* Puntland–Somaliland dispute (1998–present)
* Somali Civil War
* 2006–2009 Ethiopian intervention
* 2009–present phase
* AMISOM
* Piracy off the coast of Somalia

Kenya|

* Ethnic conflicts
* Somali–Kenyan conflict (1963–present)
* Likoni massacres (1997)
* Kenyan crisis (2007–2008)
* 2012–2013 Tana River District clashes (2012–2013)
* Baragoi clashes (2012)

South Sudan|

* Heglig Crisis (2012)
* Nomadic conflicts
* Ethnic violence
* Civil War (2013–2020)
* Abyei border conflict (2022–present)

Sudan|

* Second Sudanese Civil War (1983–2005)
* War in Darfur (2003–2020)
* Nomadic conflicts (2009–present)
* South Kordofan and Blue Nile conflict (2011–2020)
* Heglig Crisis (2012)
* Blue Nile clashes (2022–2023)
* Sudanese civil war (2023–present)

Uganda|

* Lord's Resistance Army insurgency (1987–present)
* Allied Democratic Forces insurgency (1996–present)
* Kasese clashes (2016)

Others|

* Rwandan Civil War / genocide (1990–1994)
* Djiboutian Civil War (1991–1994)
* Hanish Islands conflict
* 2008 invasion of Anjouan
* Djiboutian–Eritrean border conflict
* Burundian conflicts
* 1993–2005 Civil War
* 2015–2018 unrest

Southern Africa|

| Mozambique|

* Mozambican Civil War (1977–1992)
* RENAMO insurgency (2013–2021)
* Insurgency in Cabo Delgado (2017–present)

|

Others|

* Bophuthatswana crisis (1994)
* Caprivi conflict (1994–1999)
* Lesothan conflicts
* SADC intervention in Lesotho (1998–1999)
* 2014 Lesotho political crisis

Related topics|

* War on terror
* Arab Spring
* Arab Winter
* Colour revolutions

* v
* t
* e

Ongoing armed conflicts

Africa|

| Central|

* Allied Democratic Forces insurgency
* Anglophone Crisis
* Cabinda War
* Central African Republic Civil War
* Insurgency in Chad
* Insurgency in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
* Ituri conflict
* Western DR Congo clashes
* Kivu conflict
* M23 campaign
* Lord's Resistance Army insurgency

|

East|

* ADF insurgency
* Ethiopian civil conflict
* OLA insurgency
* Oromo conflict
* War in Amhara
* Ethnic violence in South Sudan
* Insurgency in Mozambique
* Somali Civil War
* Operation Atalanta

North|

* Insurgency in Egypt
* Insurgency in the Maghreb
* War in the Sahel
* Islamist insurgency in Burkina Faso
* Jihadist insurgency in Niger
* Libyan crisis
* Sudanese civil war
* Sudanese nomadic conflicts
* Ethnic violence in South Sudan
* Western Sahara conflict
* Western Saharan clashes

West|

* Communal conflicts in Nigeria
* Boko Haram insurgency
* Herder–farmer conflicts in Nigeria
* Nigerian bandit conflict
* Religious violence in Nigeria
* Conflict in the Niger Delta
* Insurgency in Southeastern Nigeria
* Mali War
* Azawad conflict
* Western Togoland Rebellion

Americas|

| North|

* Jamaican political conflict
* Mexican drug war
* Salvadoran gang crackdown
* Honduran gang crackdown
* Gang war in Haiti

|

South|

* Colombian conflict
* Ecuadorian security crisis
* Insurgency in Paraguay
* Internal conflict in Peru
* Mapuche conflict

Asia|

| East|

* Korean conflict

|

Central|

* Xinjiang conflict

South|

* Afghan conflict
* Islamic State–Taliban conflict
* Republican insurgency

* Internal conflict in Bangladesh

* Insurgency in Northeast India
* Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir
* Naxalite–Maoist insurgency

* Insurgency in Pakistan
* Insurgency in Balochistan
* Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
* Afghanistan–Pakistan border conflicts
* Insurgency in Sindh
* Sectarian violence in Pakistan

South-
east|

* Myanmar conflict
* Myanmar civil war
* Rakhine offensive
* Kachin conflict
* Kalay clashes
* Karen conflict
* Karen–Mon conflict
* Conflict in Rakhine State
* Rohingya conflict
* Conflicts in the Philippines
* Communist
* Drug war
* Papua conflict
* South Thailand insurgency

West|

* Abkhazia conflict
* Georgian–Ossetian conflict
* Sistan and Baluchestan insurgency
* Iraq conflict
* Islamic State insurgency in Iraq
* Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict
* Qatif conflict
* Yemeni crisis
* Saudi–led intervention
* Yemeni civil war
* Iran–Israel proxy conflict
* Gaza–Israel conflict
* Gaza War
* Hezbollah–Israel conflict
* Iran–Israel conflict in Syria
* Kurdish separatism in Iran
* Iran–PJAK conflict
* Western Iran clashes
* Kurdistan Workers' Party insurgency
* 2015–2025
* Maoist insurgency in Turkey
* DHKP/C insurgency in Turkey
* Syrian civil war
* Turkish intervention

Europe|

| East|

* Abkhazia conflict
* Georgian–Ossetian conflict
* Islamic State insurgency in the North Caucasus
* Russo-Ukrainian War
* Russian invasion of Ukraine

|

West|

* Dissident Irish republican campaign
* Loyalist feud

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template