Western Sahara is a sparsely populated area of mostly desert located on the northwest coast of Africa.
A former Spanish colony, the region was annexed to Morocco in 1975. Since then, it has been the subject of a long-running territorial dispute between Morocco and the indigenous Saharawi people, led by the Polisario Front.
The 16-year rebellion ended in a UN-brokered ceasefire in 1991, which promised a referendum on independence, but this has yet to take place.
A buffer zone, or “berm” equipped with mines and fortifications, extends the length of the disputed area, separating the western part controlled by Morocco from the eastern part controlled by the Polisario Front.
Declared by the Polisario Front in 1976, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) is recognized by many governments and is a full member of the African Union.
With phosphate reserves and rich fishing grounds off its coast, Western Sahara is believed to have untapped offshore oil deposits.
