When the battle to free Africa from colonial rule began in the late 50's it seemed like an unstoppable train as country after country released themselves from the shackles of colonialism such by 1977 it seemed, bar the Apartheid enclaves of South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, the entire continent was free from the shame of colonial rule. However in a corner of North West Africa the joy of decolonization was rapidly followed by recolonization only this time the colonizer was much closer to home.

The people of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic are today still fighting militarily and politically to free themselves and their land from grasp of the Moroccan government.

The genesis of the conflict lies in notorious Berlin conference of 1884 where the European powers of the day sat down and divided Africa into colonial territories amongst themselves. Spain was 'awarded' territories south of Morocco, which it named the territories of Rio de Oro and Saguia el-Hamralater to become more commonly known as Spanish Sahara. Spain notionally ruled the territories from 1884 through to 1975, however from the onset the Spanish colonialists struggled to impose effective control over the territory as the indigenously Saharawis were fiercely resolute in the opposition to colonial subjugation.

Spain repeatedly had to call on the intervention of French colonial army in Morocco to assist in pacifying the Saharawis but at best their repeated efforts only ever brought a temporary respite. Matters reached a head in 1957 when Saharawi freedom fighters almost routed the Spanish completely from the country and only a last minute massive intervention of the French army prevented a complete humiliation for Spain.

Rather than learn from the earlier debacle, Spain now under the Fascist regime of General Franco imposed an even more brutal regime, marked in particular by the murder of Muhammed Sidi Bassiri a Saharawi proponent of non-violence. The brutality of the Spanish rule only served to fuel the demands for Saharawi independence. In 1973 the [i] Frente Popular de Liberacion de Saguia el Hamra y Rio de Oro [/i], the Polisario Front was formed to with the aim to win independence by any means.

The Polisario Front rapidly won territory from the Spanish such that by 1975 Spanish governance no longer existed outside the main urban centres and after the death of General Franco the Spanish began moves to permanently abandon any attempts to hold on to the country. They however did not leave without one last attempt to deny the Saharawi people their freedom.

Spain signed an agreement handing over a large part of the country to Morocco to the north, and the rest to Mauritania to the east in exchange for income from phosphates mines that Morocco now took over.

For the Polisario Front this was a major set back and as Moroccan and Mauritanian troops poured across the border in numbers, the Polisario front where forced to relocate to Algeria where a sympathetic government gave them the chance to regroup, re-arm and refocus the struggle against enemies now much closer to home. It was in exile that the Polisario Front on February 26, 1976 declared the former colony of Spanish Sahara to be the new Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR).

In Morocco the agreement with Spain was seen as a validation of a Morocco historical position. Morocco has longed argued that Morocco has existed as a state including the Western Sahara since the 9th century.

It further argues the Saharawi people had allegiance to the Kingdom of Morocco and as such by extension were part of the Kingdom and the sovereignty had been effective, permanent, continuous and peaceful. Mauritania's claim was more tenuous and was fuelled by the desire to create a buffer between the country and Morocco, as the Mauritanians has traditionally had a rocky relationship with Morocco.

Both countries moved quickly to assert their claims on Western Sahara territory, but the Polisario Front fought back and Mauritania the weaker of the two invading countries found it too difficult to hold onto the newly acquired territory in the face of sustained military action from the Polisario Front, this culminated in Mauritania complete withdrawal from the territory in 1979. However Mauritania’s withdrawal was seen by Morocco as an opportunity to extend it control over the whole of the country.

The battles between the Polisario Front and Morocco continued until a ceasefire was declared in 1991 under the auspices of the United Nations. The cease-fire called for the deployment on a United Nations peacekeeping force in the territory. The force MINURSO - Mission des Nations unies pour l'Organisation d'un Referendum au Sahara Occidental - had a mandate to monitor the ceasefire, implement troop disengagement from both sides, and lay the groundwork for a referendum on independence in 1992.

This referendum has yet to be carried out as neither Morocco nor the representatives of Western Sahara could agree on the terms of the referendum; this has been further complicated by Morocco in 1997 changing its position to insist that Independence for Western Sahara was no longer an acceptable option in the referendum. In the interim the Morocco settler population in the Western Sahara continues to grow complicating any hopes for an easy solution to this stalemate.