Western Sahara: Contested desert land

A Sahrawi family stands at the entrance of their tent on the outskirts of the southwestern Algerian city of Tindouf

A Sahrawi family stands at the entrance of their tent on the outskirts of the southwestern Algerian city of Tindouf

After thousands of migrants crossed the border from Morocco into Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta, we look at the disputed Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony long a bone of contention between Rabat and Madrid.

Tensions have risen again after the leader of the Polisario Front -- the independence movement resisting Moroccan domination of the Western Sahara -- arrived in Spain last month, reportedly to be treated for Covid-19.

Morocco has offered Western Sahara autonomy, but maintains the territory is a sovereign part of the kingdom.

A decades-old ceasefire collapsed in November after Morocco sent troops into a buffer zone to reopen the only road leading from Morocco to Mauritania and the rest of West Africa.

The two sides have since exchanged fire along the demarcation line, though claims are difficult to independently verify in the hard-to-access area.

- Desert and ocean -

Western Sahara

Western Sahara

Western Sahara sits on the western edge of the vast desert, stretching along about 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) of Atlantic coastline.

Its inhospitable terrain supports only around 650,000 people.

As Spain withdrew in 1975, its northern neighbour Morocco moved in, claiming the territory as part of its kingdom.

But it was opposed by the Polisario Front, which took up arms to fight for independence, with the International Court of Justice ruling in favour of self-determination.

In November 1975, 350,000 Moroccans took part in the so-called Green March to the border, to press the kingdom's claim on the territory's large reserves of phosphate and rich offshore fisheries.

The following year, the Polisario Front proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), with the support of allies including Cuba and neighbouring Algeria, its most important backer.

- Sand wall -

Treated for Covid in Spain: Polisario Front leader Brahim Ghali

Treated for Covid in Spain: Polisario Front leader Brahim Ghali

The Polisario initially gained the upper hand, before being pushed back into the interior.

During the 1980s Morocco built a sand wall to keep Polisario fighters out of territory it controlled.

The outermost defensive line runs for 2,700 kilometres, ringing the 80 percent of the Western Sahara now under Moroccan control.

It is fortified with barbed wire and trenches, and is one of the world's largest minefields.

The SADR is a member of the African Union, but controls less than 20 percent of the territory, mostly empty desert.

- Troubled region -

The United Nations has failed to find a lasting settlement since it brokered a ceasefire on the line of control in 1991.

A referendum it organised over Western Sahara's future in 1992 was aborted when Morocco objected to who was eligible to vote. Rabat refuses to accept any vote in which independence is an option, offering autonomy instead.

The conflict has long poisoned Morocco's relations with neighbouring Algeria.

Their border has been closed since 1994, and between 100,000 and 200,000 Sahrawi refugees live in camps around the Algerian desert town of Tindouf.

- Talks fail -

Moroccans celebrate in Rabat in December after the US adopted a new official map of Morocco that includes the disputed territory of Western Sahara

Moroccans celebrate in Rabat in December after the US adopted a new official map of Morocco that includes the disputed territory of Western Sahara

After years of deadlock, former German president and UN special envoy Horst Koehler got the two sides together in Geneva, along with Algeria and Mauritania.

But two rounds of talks faltered in March 2019.

In the meantime, some 20 countries have opened diplomatic offices in the Moroccan-held cities of Laayoune and Dakhla.

- Rights abuses -

A 2018 UN report on Western Sahara cited "serious human rights violations" committed by Moroccan police against those pushing for self-determination.

Another last year said it had received reports about torture and medical neglect in Moroccan prisons.

The reports also highlighted concerns over rights abuses in the Tindouf camps run by the Polisario and of harassment, and ill-treatment of doctors and nurses tackling Covid-19 there.

- Trump's deal -

In December, Morocco normalised ties with Israel in a diplomatic quid pro quo that saw Washington back Moroccan rule over Western Sahara, a move that infuriated the Polisario.

- Polisario police chief killed -

In April, five months after the ceasefire broke down in November, Polisario police chief Addah al-Bendir was killed in a suspected drone strike, it what some see as a possible turning point in the conflict.

- Migrant pressure on Spain -

Moroccan migrants climb a cliffside on the shore of the northern town of Fnideq as they attempt to cross the border from Morocco to Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta on May 18, 2021

Moroccan migrants climb a cliffside on the shore of the northern town of Fnideq as they attempt to cross the border from Morocco to Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta on May 18, 2021

In April, Polisario leader Brahim Ghali goes to Spain reportedly for treatment for Covid-19, a move Madrid says was made on humanitarian grounds.

On Monday, thousands of migrants cross into Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta from Morocco, in what some see as a ploy by Rabat to put pressure on Madrid.

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