Western Sahara War

The Western Sahara War was an armed conflict between Morocco and the Polisario Front over control of Western Sahara, ending in a United Nations-brokered ceasefire in 1991.

Polisario Front: A Sahrawi national liberation movement that seeks independence for Western Sahara. It fought Moroccan forces and proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.
Spanish Sahara: The Spanish colonial territory that became the subject of competing claims after Spain withdrew. Its decolonization left sovereignty unresolved and set the stage for war.
United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara: A UN peacekeeping mission established in 1991 to monitor the ceasefire and organize a referendum. The mission embodied the ceasefire’s promise of a vote on the territory’s future.
Western Sahara War (1975–1991): The first phase of the Western Sahara conflict, fought from Spain’s withdrawal through the 1991 ceasefire. This period is the armed conflict distinguished from the post-ceasefire dispute.
Royal Moroccan Army: Morocco’s national armed forces, including its land, naval, and air branches. Its campaign to hold the territory became central to the war’s later phase.
Madrid Accords: The 1975 agreements by which Spain arranged to transfer administration of Spanish Sahara to Morocco and Mauritania. They shaped the withdrawal without settling the territory’s sovereignty.
Western Sahara referendum: A proposed vote to determine Western Sahara’s political status that has not been held. Disagreement over voter eligibility and options stalled the settlement envisaged in 1991.
Western Sahara clashes (2020–present): Renewed hostilities between Morocco and the Polisario Front after the 1991 ceasefire broke down in 2020. The later fighting contrasts with the long ceasefire that ended the war.
Moroccan Western Sahara Wall: A fortified berm system built by Morocco across much of Western Sahara. It reduced Polisario raids and consolidated Moroccan control west of the barriers.
International Court of Justice advisory opinion on Western Sahara: A 1975 opinion finding historical ties but no territorial sovereignty that displaced self-determination. Its findings undercut claims that historical allegiance alone could determine the territory’s future.

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