From wikipedia about Western Sahara
The
Western Sahara is a disputed territory in North Africa, bordered by
Morocco to the north,
Algeria to the northeast,
Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its surface area amounts to. It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly consisting of desert flatlands. The population is estimated at just over 500, 000, many of whom live in El Aaiún (also called Laayoune), the largest city in
Western Sahara.
A colony of
Spain since the late 19th century, the
Western Sahara has been on the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories since 1963. In 1965, the UN General Assembly adopted its first resolution on
Western Sahara, asking
Spain to decolonise the territory. One year later, a new resolution was passed by the General Assembly requesting
Spain to organise a referendum on self-determination. In 1975,
Spain relinquished the administrative control of the territory to a joint administration by
Morocco, which had formally claimed the territory since 1957, and
Mauritania. A war erupted between those countries and the Sahrawi national liberation movement Polisario Front, which proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) (exiled government in Tindouf,
Algeria).
Mauritania withdrew in 1979, and
Morocco eventually secured effective control of most of the territory, including all the major cities and natural resources.
Since a United Nations-sponsored ceasefire agreement in 1991, most of the territory (including the entire Atlantic coast line) has been controlled by
Morocco, strongly backed by
France,, 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 In both instances, recognitions have over the past two decades been extended and withdrawn according to changing international trends.