Western Sahara

Western Sahara (Arabic: الصحراء الغربية; Amazigh: Tanẓṛuft Tutrimt; )  is a territory in north Africa. To the north is Morocco, to the east is Algeria, to the south is Mauritania, and to the west is the Atlantic Ocean. Its surface is . It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world. Most of the territory is made of desert flatlands. The largest city is Laâyoune. More than half the population live there. The territory has a population estimated at just more than 500,000.

Western Sahara has been on the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories since the 1960s when it was a Spanish colony.Whitfield, Teresa. Friends Indeed?: The United Nations, Groups of Friends, and the Resolution of Conflict. 2007, page 191. The Kingdom of Morocco and the Polisario Front, with its Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) government, both claim control over the territory.

Since 1975, most of the territory has been part of Morocco. In 1973, some Sahrawis claimed the Moroccans and Mauritanians were occupying their land and started a movement. The movement turned violent, and the United Nations brokered a ceasefire in 1991. Many Polisario members and their families became refugees in camps in Algeria.  The rest of Western Sahara is controlled by the Polisario/SADR, backed by Algeria.Baehr, Peter R. The United Nations at the End of the 1990s. 1999, page 129. Many important countries have pressed both parties to agree to a peaceful solution. Both Morocco and Polisario have tried to get recognition from other countries. Polisario has won formal recognition for SADR from 81 states, and was extended membership in the African Union, while Morocco has won recognition for its position from the Arab League.Arab League supports Morocco's Territorial Integrity , Arabic News, Morocco-Regional, Politics, January 8, 1999. Retrieved August 24, 2006.Arab League Withdraws Inaccurate Moroccan maps , Arabic News, Regional-Morocco, Politics, December 17, 1998. Retrieved August 24, 2006. In both instances, recognitions have over the past two decades been extended and withdrawn according to changing international trends.

Some countries (such as the United States) recognizes Morocco's sovereignty on Western Sahara, others claim that the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic are the legitimate government in Western Sahara. Most nations remain neutral on the subject. The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic was made by the Polisario Front an armed militia fighting under Sahrawi nationalism.

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