Western Sahara conflict

Armed conflict between Morocco and the Polisario Front

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January 15 2022 Staffan de Mistura met with Khatri Addouh, head of Polisario's political organization, in Shahid Al Hafed.
January 13 2022 Staffan de Mistura began diplomatic discussions, meeting with Morocco's Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita.
October 6 2021 UN Secretary-General António Guterres appointed Staffan de Mistura as his Personal Envoy for Western Sahara.
2020 Morocco and Western Sahara ranked 133rd out of 180 countries in World Press Freedom Rankings, receiving a low score of 42.88 out of 100 due to continued 'judicial harassment' of media.
December 10 2020 President Donald Trump officially recognized Morocco's claims over Western Sahara in exchange for Morocco agreeing to normalize relations with Israel.
December 4 2020 The United States recognized Moroccan sovereignty over the entire Western Sahara territory and reaffirmed support for Morocco's autonomy proposal, stating that an independent Sahrawi State is not a realistic solution.
November 14 2020 SADR president Brahim Ghali signed a decree ending the 29-year-old ceasefire with Morocco, citing a Moroccan army incursion into a buffer zone two days earlier. Ghali considered the Moroccan army's actions a declaration of war, specifically challenging a road built after the 1991 UN-brokered truce.
November 13 2020 The Moroccan army entered the demilitarized town of Guerguerat, breaking the long-standing ceasefire. In response, Saharawi authorities declared the ceasefire broken and launched armed attacks on Moroccan army positions along the Western Sahara Wall.
April 2020 Polisario Front publicly condemned the peace talks, claiming their inaction legitimized Morocco's encroachment into the territory and reiterating their request for a UN-organized free referendum on self-governing status.
March 2020 Liberia opened a consulate for Morocco in Dakhla, becoming the 10th African country to establish a diplomatic mission in Western Sahara. This move effectively recognized the Moroccan presence in the region and was subsequently condemned by international representatives of the Polisario Front and Algeria.
January 2020 Morocco passed a law extending its recognized borders across Western Saharan waters, in response to the Polisario Front's announced challenge to the SFPA in the European Court of Justice.
July 2019 The Polisario Front arrested three Saharawi activists in refugee camps for criticizing the organization's governance in Facebook posts. Human Rights Watch reported they were held in harsh conditions and tortured.
July 19 2019 Protests in Laayoune began as celebrations for Algeria's Africa Cup of Nations win, escalated into demonstrations for Sahrawi self-determination, and resulted in clashes with Moroccan security forces. The confrontation led to dozens of arrests and one death.
June 2019 A video emerged of Moroccan authorities violently dragging and beating prominent Sahrawi journalist Walid Al-Batal. International rights groups condemned the incident, and Al-Batal was subsequently sentenced to six years in prison.
February 2019 European Parliament passed the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement (SFPA), allowing European fishing vessels to fish in disputed Western Sahara coastal waters, despite opposition from the Polisario Front and Human Rights Watch.
2018 United Nations Security Council announced the resumption of peace talks regarding the Western Sahara territory, with delegates from the Polisario Front, Morocco, Algeria, and Mauritania invited to participate.
December 4 2018 Moroccan forces arrested Nezha El Khalidi under Article 381 for live-streaming a Sahrawi protest, subsequently failing to meet the qualifications of a journalist.
2016 Hamas banned activities of the Palestinian Committee of solidarity with Sahrawi people in Gaza, maintaining close ties with the Moroccan Justice and Development Party (JDP).
December 5 2016 The UN held the first roundtable in Geneva, gathering stakeholders to discuss the Western Sahara conflict, with Algeria invited as an observer.
April 2013 The United States proposed that MINURSO monitor human rights in Western Sahara, which Morocco strongly opposed, leading to the cancellation of the annual African Lion military exercises with U.S. Army troops. U.S. Ambassador to Morocco Samuel L. Kaplan also declared that the Moroccan autonomy plan cannot be the sole basis for negotiations.
2011 Spanish Foreign Minister Trinidad Jiménez called for a UN committee to investigate the security situation and potential aid distribution corruption in Polisario-controlled refugee camps in Tindouf, Algeria, following the kidnapping of two Spanish aid workers and one Italian by suspected al-Qaeda members.
May 2011 Protest movement largely subsides after several months of demonstrations.
May 2011 2011 protests gradually subsided, ending the Western Saharan branch of the Arab Spring demonstrations.
February 26 2011 Protests began in Dakhla, Western Sahara, triggered by police's failure to prevent anti-Sahrawi looting, and subsequently spread throughout the territory.
November 8 2010 Moroccan security forces dismantled the Gdeim Izik tent camp, leading to violent clashes. Eleven security officers and at least two civilians were killed, and numerous public and private buildings and vehicles were burned.
October 9 2010 Gdeim Izik protest camp established by Sahrawis in Western Sahara, with approximately 6,500 tents erected to protest social and economic conditions under Moroccan control.

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