Western Sahara

Disputed territory in northwest Africa, bounded to the north by Morocco, to the east and south by Mauritania, and to the west by the Atlantic Ocean; area 266,800 sq km/103,000 sq mi; population (2004) 417,000. The capital is Laâyoune (Arabic El Aaiún). Exports include phosphates, of which there are vast deposits at Bu Craa to the southwest of Laâyoune, and iron ore. Towns include Ad Dakhla. The currency is the dirham, the main language Arabic, and the principal religion Sunni Muslim. The region is administered by Morocco. It is recognized as a state by over 70 countries (in 2003).

History This Saharan coastal region (1,000 km/625 mi long) was designated a Spanish ‘sphere of influence’ in 1884 because it lies opposite the Spanish-ruled Canary Islands. On securing its independence in 1956, Morocco laid claim to and invaded this ‘Spanish Sahara’ territory, but was repulsed. Spanish Sahara became a Spanish province in 1958. Moroccan interest was rekindled from 1965, following the discovery of rich phosphate resources at Boukra, and within Spanish Sahara a pro-independence nationalist movement developed, spearheaded by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia al Hamra and Rio de Oro (Polisario), established in 1973.

Partition After the death of the Spanish ruler General Franco, Spain withdrew and the territory was partitioned between Morocco and Mauritania in 1976. Polisario rejected this partition, declared their own independent Saharan Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), and proceeded to wage a guerrilla war, securing indirect support from Algeria and, later, Libya. By 1979 they had succeeded in their struggle against Mauritania, which withdrew from their southern sector and concluded a peace agreement with Polisario, and in 1982 the SADR was accepted as a full member of the Organization of African Unity.

Defensive wall Morocco, which occupied the Mauritanian-evacuated zone, still retained control over the bulk of the territory, including the key towns and phosphate mines, which it protected with an ‘electronic defensive wall’ 2,500 km/1,550 mi long and defended by mines, completed in 1987. From the mid-1980s this wall was gradually extended outwards as Libya and Algeria reduced their support for Polisario and drew closer to Morocco. In 1988, Morocco and the Polisario Front agreed to United Nations-sponsored plans for a ceasefire and a referendum in Western Sahara, based on 1974 voting rolls, to decide the territory's future. However, subsequent divisions over the terms of the referendum resulted in continued fighting. The holding of the referendum was planned for the end of 1993, but was subsequently postponed after the breakdown of UN-sponsored peace talks between Morocco and the Polisario in New York; by 1995 £87.5 million had been spent and only 11,000 eligible voters identified. In 1996 Polisario threatened a resumption of fighting if the referendum was not soon held. In June 1998 it was decided to delay the referendum on the territory's future until at least February 1999. Talks were held between Morocco and Polisario in London, England, in June 2000.

United Nations proposal rejected A plan proposed by United Nations (UN) special envoy James Baker, and backed by the secretary general, Kofi Annan, that would make Western Sahara an autonomous region of Morocco for the next four years, was rejected by the Polisario Front in June 2001. The independence movement accused the UN of taking Morocco's side and ignoring the rights of the Saharan people.

An estimated 196,000 people live in refugee camps near Tindouf, southwest Algeria.