page_title: Western Sahara conflict
section_title: Polisario-controlled areas
hierarchical_section_title: Western Sahara conflict / Current situation / Polisario-controlled areas
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: rechts Posten der Frente Polisario im Süden der Westsahara, links Fahrzeug der UN-Mission English: right a post of the Frente Polisario (Polisario Front) in southern Western Sahara, left a car of the UN-mission Français&#160;: à droite un post du Frente Polisario (Front Polisario) au sud du Sahara occidental, à gauche une voiture de l'ONU
context_page_description: The Western Sahara conflict is an ongoing conflict between the 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.
context_section_description: The Polisario controls about 20–25% of the Western Sahara territory, 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 occupied territory, while Morocco considers the much smaller SADR held territory to be a buffer zone.
  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. Most affairs and camp life organization is run by the refugees themselves, with little outside interference. Women have been "responsible for much of the administration of the camps."
caption: Left a car of MINURSO, right a post of the Frente polisario in 2017 in southern Western Sahara
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