13th century, and the whole region became predominantly Arabic.
By the 19th century the desert had new overlords again: the Spanish, who grabbed the
Western Sahara and renamed it Rio de Oro, even though it had neither water nor gold. In
reality, until 1934 it was Sheikh Ma El-Ainin and his son El-Hiba who controlled the desert and
the nomadic tribes. After that, an uneasy colonial peace prevailed until Moroccan independence
in 1957, when new nationalist fervour contributed to the establishment of the Polisario Front and
the guerrilla war against the Spanish.
When it was abandoned by Spain in 1975, Morocco and Mauritania both raised claims to the
desert region, but Mauritania soon bailed out. In November 1975 King Hassan II orchestrated
the Green March – 350,000 Moroccans marched south to stake Morocco’s historical claims to
the Western Sahara (see boxed text, Click here ).
In the following years 100,000 Moroccan troops were poured in to stamp out resistance, and
Rabat gained the upper hand. The UN brokered a ceasefire in 1991, but the promised
referendum, in which the indigenous Saharawi could choose between independence and
integration with Morocco, has yet to materialise.
Ever since, Morocco has strengthened its hold on the territory, pouring money into
infrastructure projects, particularly offshore oil exploration, and attracting Moroccans from the
north to live here tax-free. Until late 2010, the troubled area seemed to be lying dormant, with
the dispute largely forgotten by the world beyond this remote region. However, on 8 November
2010, Moroccan security forces stormed the Gadaym Izik camp near Laâyoune, in an attempt
to break up the 15,000-strong protest camp. Both sides saw fatalities in the ensuing clashes,
which turned to riots and engulfed the city, with 700-plus Saharawi injuries, and scenes of fire
and destruction in the international media. The fighting jeopardised UN-mediated talks that
opened in New York state the following day, although they began again in December 2010.
Many now anticipate Polisario retaliations to Morocco’s breach of the ceasefire, and Africa’s
longest-running territorial dispute continues.
For the most up-to-date information on the Western Sahara, or the Saharawi Arab
Democratic Republic (as the separatist government calls the occupied territory), check these
resources:
ARSO (www.arso.org)
BBC (http://tinyurl.com/37j6p8n)
CIA World Factbook (http://tinyurl.com/38nkck)
Global Voices (http://tinyurl.com/3a7hgqc)
UN (www.un.org)
Climate
Beyond the foothills of the Anti Atlas lies a parched hinterland starved of moisture. Here
temperatures can exceed 45°C during the day and plunge to 0°C at night, while an annual
rainfall of less than 125mm gives a suffocating aridity hovering between 5% and 30% – dry
enough to mummify corpses. The desert wind, known locally as the chergui, irifi or sirocco,
adds to the harsh conditions. From March to April, sandstorms also plague the desert, making
driving inadvisable.