Polisario Front

The Polisario Front (Frente Popular de Liberación de Saguía el Hamra y Río de Oro) was founded in 1973 to fight Spanish colonial rule over Western Sahara. After Spain withdrew in 1975-76 following the Madrid Accords, which transferred administration to Morocco and Mauritania, Polisario proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) on 27 February 1976 and waged guerrilla war against both states. Mauritania renounced its claim in 1979; Morocco then occupied the bulk of the territory and built a sand berm separating Moroccan-controlled areas from a smaller "Free Zone" administered by Polisario.

The movement is headquartered in the Tindouf refugee camps in southwestern Algeria, which has been its principal patron and host since the 1970s. Polisario's leadership has historically included figures such as founding secretary-general El-Ouali Mustapha Sayed (killed in 1976) and long-serving leader Mohamed Abdelaziz (1976-2016); Brahim Ghali has led the movement since 2016.

A UN-brokered ceasefire took effect in 1991, alongside the creation of MINURSO, the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara, which was tasked with organizing a self-determination vote that has never occurred due to disputes over voter eligibility. In November 2020, Polisario declared the ceasefire over after a clash at the Guerguerat border crossing and resumed low-intensity hostilities.

The SADR is a member of the African Union (admitted 1982, prompting Morocco's withdrawal until 2017) and is recognized by several dozen states, though the number fluctuates as recognitions are frozen or withdrawn. Major powers including the United States (since December 2020), France (since 2024), and Spain (since 2022) have endorsed Morocco's autonomy plan rather than full independence. Polisario continues to demand a binding referendum that includes independence as an option, citing UN General Assembly Resolution 1514 (1960) on decolonization.