| Revision as of 16:32, 19 January 2006 editKoavf (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users2,174,994 editsm Rv. I can't believe we discussed this for so long, and then you changed it again without discussing.← Previous edit | Revision as of 04:08, 15 June 2007 edit undoKoavf (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users2,174,994 edits Rv. to wording from long consensus discussion on talk. If you want to radically change it, please post there first.Next edit → |
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Revision as of 04:08, 15 June 2007
Western Sahara is the name of a disputed region in northwest Africa. Most of the territory of Western Sahara is under Moroccan control and administration. Amnesty International and a number of experts in international law characterise this control as military occupation. The remainder is under the administration of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. Colonized by Spain from 1884-1976 as Spanish Sahara, the process of decolonization was never completed, and the native population, the Sahrawis, did not exercise their right to self-determination. A nationalist group known as the Polisario Front has fought Spain, Morocco, and Mauritania for independence. A guerrilla war with the Polisario Front contesting Rabat's sovereignty ended in a 1991 UN-brokered cease-fire; a UN-organized referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed. Today, 45 governments across the world recognize the SADR as the legitimate government in Western Sahara. Furthermore, some intergovernmental organizations, such as the African Union include it as a member, but not the United Nations. Several thousand Sahrawis live in refugee camps in Tindouf, Algeria.