Western Sahara
formerly Spanish 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/103,011 sq mi
Capital:
Laâyoune (Arabic El Aaiú n)
Towns and Cities:
Dakhla
Features:
Electrically monitored fortified wall enclosing the phosphate areas
Exports:
Phosphates, iron ore
Currency:
Dirham
Population:
(1993 est) 214,000; another estimated 196,000 live in refugee camps
near Tindouf, southwest Algeria. Ethnic composition: Sawrawis (traditionally
nomadic herders)
Language:
Arabic
Religion:
Sunni Muslim
Government:
Administered by Morocco
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.
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.
Morocco, which occupied the Mauritanian-evacuated zone, still retained
control over the bulk of the territory, including the key towns and
phosphate mines, which they 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 cease- fire 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.
|
