Was Western Sahara part of Morocco?
Was Western Sahara part of Morocco?
Western Sahara is a sparsely-populated area of mostly desert situated on the northwest coast of Africa. A former Spanish colony, it was annexed by Morocco in 1975. Since then it has been the subject of a long-running territorial dispute between Morocco and its indigenous Saharawi people, led by the Polisario Front.
What was Western Sahara called?
Spanish Sahara
Western Sahara, Arabic Al-Ṣaḥrāʾ al-Gharbiyyah, formerly (1958–76) Spanish Sahara, territory occupying an extensive desert Atlantic-coastal area (97,344 square miles [252,120 square km]) of northwest Africa.
Who Recognises Western Sahara?
As of September 2021, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is recognized by 41 out of a total of 193 United Nations member states. At different times, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic has been recognized by 84 UN member states, but, of these, 43 have since “frozen” or “withdrawn” recognition.
What is Polisario Front Western Sahara?
The Polisario Front is composed largely of the indigenous nomadic inhabitants of the Western Sahara region, the Sahrawis. The Polisario Front began in May 1973 as an insurgency (based in neighbouring Mauritania) against Spanish control of Western Sahara.
How many countries recognize Western Sahara as part of Morocco?
The independence of the SADR has been recognized at various points by some 80 countries, although, beginning in the mid-1990s, a number of them withdrew or suspended their recognition. The region was a Spanish colony from about 1884 to 1976.
Who controlled Western Sahara?
About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, while the remaining 80% of the territory is occupied and administered by neighboring Morocco. Its surface area amounts to 266,000 square kilometres (103,000 sq mi).
What is the Moroccan Western Sahara wall?
The Moroccan Western Sahara Wall is also called Western Sahara berm, Western Sahara separation barrier . The fortifications lie in uninhabited or very sparsely inhabited territory.
How does the berm work in Morocco?
Military bases, artillery posts and airfields dot the Moroccan-controlled side of the wall at regular intervals, and radar masts and other electronic surveillance equipment scan the areas in front of it. The following is one observer’s description of the Berm from 2001:
What are the southern provinces of Morocco?
Effectively, after the completion of the wall, Morocco has controlled the bulk of Western Sahara territory that lies to the north and west of it, calling these the kingdom’s ” Southern Provinces “.
What is happening in Western Sahara?
Sahrawi women hold a protest in Western Sahara on the eastern side of the wall. In the summer of 2005, the Moroccan Army accelerated the expulsion (started in late 2004) of illegal immigrants detained in northern Morocco to the eastern side of the wall, into the Free Zone.
