Borderline Brief (8/150): Western Sahara
The Morocco, Mauritania, and Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Conflict: A Territorial Dispute in North Africa.
Introduction
In this installment of our series on territorial disputes around the world, we turn our attention to the Western Sahara conflict, a long-standing dispute between Morocco and the Polisario Front, a Sahrawi liberation movement seeking independence for the region. The conflict over the Western Sahara has been ongoing for decades, with both sides claiming sovereignty over the territory. In this post, we will explore the history, causes, and current status of the Western Sahara conflict.
Background
The Western Sahara is a sparsely populated region in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The region was colonized by Spain in the 19th century, but Spain withdrew in 1976, leading to a power vacuum and the emergence of competing claims to the territory.
Morocco claimed sovereignty over the Western Sahara, citing historical ties to the region. However, the Polisario Front, representing the indigenous Sahrawi people, declared the region an independent state called the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) and launched an armed struggle against Moroccan forces.
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