Outline of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

Updated on Dec 25, 2024

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The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic:

Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) – partially recognised state that claims sovereignty over the entire territory of Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony. SADR was proclaimed by the Polisario Front on February 27, 1976, in Bir Lehlu, Western Sahara. The SADR government controls about 20-25% of the territory it claims. It calls the territories under its control the Liberated Territories or the Free Zone. Morocco controls and administers the rest of the disputed territory and calls these lands its Southern Provinces. The SADR government considers the Moroccan-held territory to be an occupied territory.

Geography of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is: a republic in exile, holding but a small portion of the territory they claim

Location

Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is situated within the following regions of the world:

Northern Hemisphere and Western Hemisphere

Africa

Sahara Desert

North Africa

Western Sahara

Territory claimed: Western Sahara

Territory held: Free Zone

Location of most of the citizens in exile: Sahrawi refugee camps (self-managed camps in Tindouf Province, Algeria)

Time zone: Coordinated Universal Time UTC+00

Atlas of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

Environment of Western Sahara

Climate of Western Sahara

Ecoregions in Western Sahara

Renewable energy in Western Sahara

Geology of Western Sahara

Protected areas of Western Sahara

Biosphere reserves in Western Sahara

National parks of Western Sahara

Wildlife of Western Sahara

Fauna of Western Sahara

Birds of Western Sahara

Mammals of Western Sahara

Natural geographic features of Western Sahara

Glaciers in Western Sahara: none

Islands of Western Sahara

Lakes of Western Sahara

Mountains of Western Sahara

Volcanoes in Western Sahara

Rivers of Western Sahara

Waterfalls of Western Sahara

Valleys of Western Sahara

World Heritage Sites in Western Sahara: None

Administrative divisions of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

Free Zone – area that lies between the Moroccan Wall and the border with Algeria.

Sahrawi refugee camps – self-managed camps in Tindouf Province, Algeria

The SADR claims the rest of Western Sahara, but the portion west of the Moroccan Wall is occupied by Morocco.

Provinces of Western Sahara

Districts of Western Sahara

Municipalities of Western Sahara

Municipalities of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

Capital of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic:

Tifariti – temporary capital and headquarters of the Polisario Front

El Aaiún (de jure) – headquarters of Moroccan occupation, but still considered by the SADR to be its true capital

Towns within the Free Zone, administered by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

Tifariti تيفاريتي – temporary capital and headquarters of the Polisario Front

Bir Lehlou بير لحلو former temporary capital

Meharrize محيرس

Zug

Dougaj

Agounit أغوانيت

Mijek (Miyek, ميجك)

For the rest of the cities and towns within Western Sahara claimed by the SADR, see List of cities in Western Sahara

Government and politics of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

Politics of Western Sahara

State

Polisario

Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el Hamra and Rio de Oro

Western Sahara Authority

Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

Capital of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic:

Tifariti – temporary provincial capital

El Aaiún – claimed capital of the SADR, occupied by Morocco

Tindouf, Algeria

Bir Lehlou – temporary capital of the SADR

Elections

Elections in the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

Sahrawi legislative election, 2008

Political parties in the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

International recognition of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

Former members of the Polisario Front

Executive branch of the government of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

Head of state: President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Mohamed Abdelaziz

Head of government: Prime Minister of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Abdelkader Taleb Omar

Cabinet of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

Legislative branch of the government of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

Sahrawi National Council

Judicial branch of the government of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

Supreme Court of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

Foreign relations of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

International recognition of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

Diplomatic missions in the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

Diplomatic missions of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

Relations with Algeria

Relations with Cuba

Relations with East Timor

Relations with Mexico

Relations with Nigeria

Relations with Panama

Relations with South Africa

Relations with Venezuela

International organization membership

African Union (AU)

World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU)

Law and order in the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

Constitution of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

Crime in the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Crime in Western Sahara

Human rights in the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

LGBT rights in the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

Freedom of religion in the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

Law enforcement in the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

Human rights in Western Sahara

LGBT rights in Western Sahara

Freedom of religion in Western Sahara

Law enforcement in Western Sahara

Military of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

Command

Commander-in-chief: Secretary General of the Polisario Front

Forces

Army: Sahrawi People's Liberation Army, with 6,000 to 7,000 active troops.

Navy: none

Air Force: none

History of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

Hanno the Navigator – Carthaginian explorer c. 500 BC, best known for his naval exploration of the African coast.

Sanhaja – a nomadic people who were once one of the largest Berber tribal confederations of the Maghreb region.

Almoravid dynasty – during the 11th century, the Sanhaja tribal confederation allied with the Lamtuna tribe to found the Almoravid dynasty.

Trans-Saharan trade – throughout history, some trade routes crossed this region, particularly to and from the Ghana Empire during the Middle Ages.

Spanish Sahara – name used for the modern territory of Western Sahara when it was ruled as a colonial territory by Spain between 1884 and 1975.

Ifni War – series of armed incursions into Spanish West Africa by Moroccan insurgents and Sahrawi rebels that began in October 1957 and culminated with the abortive siege of Sidi Ifni.

Polisario Front emerges – formally constituted on May 10, 1973 with the express intention of militarily forcing an end to Spanish colonization.

El-Ouali Mustapha Sayed – first Secretary General of the Polisario Front.

Green March – strategic mass demonstration in November 1975, coordinated by the Moroccan government, to force Spain to hand over the disputed, autonomous semi-metropolitan Spanish Province of Sahara to Morocco. The demonstration of some 350,000 Moroccans advanced several miles into the Western Sahara territory, escorted by near 20,000 Moroccan troops, and meeting very little response by the Sahrawi Polisario Front.

Madrid Accords – treaty between Spain, Morocco, and Mauritania to end the Spanish presence in the territory of Spanish Sahara, which was until the Madrid Accords' inception a Spanish province and former colony.

Tropas Nómadas – auxiliary regiment to the colonial army in Spanish Sahara composed of Sahrawi tribesmen, equipped with small arms and led by Spanish officers, guarding outposts and sometimes conducting patrols on camelback. Following the Spanish Government's decision to hand over the territory to Morocco and Mauritania towards the end of 1975, numbers of them deserted. Many of the Tropas Nómadas soldiers are believed to have joined Polisario and Spanish-trained fighters formed the core of the Sahrawi People's Liberation Army set up to fight Morocco and Mauritania after the Green March.

1975 United Nations visiting mission to Spanish Sahara – United Nations General Assembly in 1975 dispatched a visiting mission to the territory and the surrounding countries, in accordance with its resolution 3292 (December 13, 1974), to assist in the decolonization process.

Western Sahara conflict – ongoing conflict between the Polisario Front of the Sahrawi people and the state of Morocco. The conflict is the continuation of the past insurgency by Polisario against the Spanish colonial forces in 1973-1975 and the subsequent Western Sahara War between the Polisario and Morocco (1975–1991).

Western Sahara War – armed struggle between the Sahrawi Polisario Front and Morocco between 1975 and 1991, being the most significant phase of the Western Sahara conflict.

Polisario declaration of independence – took place in 1976, establishing the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.

Sahrawi refugee camps – set up in the Tindouf Province, Algeria in 1975-76 for Sahrawi refugees fleeing from Moroccan forces. With most refugees still living in the camps, the refugee situation is among the most protracted ones worldwide.

First Battle of Amgala (1976) – Units from the Algerian Army were attacked by units from the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces on the night of 27 January. Algeria claimed their troops were providing food and medical supplies to refugees at Amgala, while Morocco said the Algerian troops were heavily armed and were aiding Polisario.

Settlement Plan – agreement made in 1991 between the Polisario Front and Morocco on the organization of a referendum, which would constitute an expression of self-determination for the people of Western Sahara, leading either to full independence, or integration with the kingdom of Morocco. It resulted in a cease-fire which remains in effect (more or less) to this day.

United Nations Security Council Resolution 690 – adopted unanimously on 29 April 1991, established MINURSO (see below) to implement the Settlement Plan (see above).

United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) – UN peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara established in 1991 under United Nations Security Council Resolution 690 as part of the Settlement Plan, which had paved way for a cease-fire in the conflict between Morocco and the Polisario Front (as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic) over the contested territory of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara).

Independence Intifada – series of disturbances, demonstrations and riots that broke out in May 2005 in the Moroccan-occupied parts of Western Sahara and south of Morocco.

Gdeim Izik protest camp – protest camp in Western Sahara established by a group of Sahrawis on 9 October 2010 and lasting into November, with related incidents occurring in the aftermath of its dismantlement on 8 November. It has been suggested by Noam Chomsky, that the month-long protest encampment at Gdeim Izik constituted the start of the Arab Spring, traditionally considered to be the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi in Tunisia on 17 December 2010.

2011 Western Saharan protests – began on 25 February 2011 as a reaction to the failure of police to prevent anti-Sahrawi looting in the city of Dakhla, Western Sahara, and blossomed into protests across the territory. They were related to the Gdeim Izik protest camp in Western Sahara established the previous fall, which had resulted in violence between Sahrawi activists and Moroccan security forces and supporters.

Former members of the Polisario Front