Western Sahara: Morocco accused of exploiting disputed region

Inhabitants of the disputed Western Sahara territory have accused Morocco of exploiting its control over the region, as reported by the Middle East Eye and agencies on November 6th.

Guerguerat is situated in the southwest region and is referred to as the “plunder corridor” by Sahrawi activists, whose ancestral homeland is the Western Sahara.

The region’s inhabitants expressed concern over Morocco’s growing collaboration with foreign companies to extract resources from the territory. Morocco is accused of “greenwashing” its occupation through its investments in the renewable energy market.

In October 2024, a European court ruled to prohibit the import of Moroccan products made in Western Sahara to the EU, citing concerns that the consent of the Sahrawi people had not been secured in previous trade deals with the region.

Although Morocco controls much of the Western Sahara, Guerguerat has long been the only route through which Morocco can export products. In February, Morocco and Mauritania announced the construction of a new border crossing between Smara, a city in Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara, and Mauritania via Amgala, an area in Western Sahara currently controlled by the Algerian-backed Polisario Front.

The Polisario Front is a separatist group claiming to fight for the self-determination of the Sahrawi people from what it calls the “Moroccan occupier.” Morocco is accused of “dividing the Sahrawi people” by the group, which has affirmed its support for “the Sahrawi people’s right to resist occupation by all means, across all occupied territories”.

The group has rejected the widely supported Moroccan Autonomy Plan that would grant the territory limited self-governance under Moroccan sovereignty.

The UN voted to endorse Morocco’s Autonomy Plan, despite Algeria’s calls to hold an independence referendum instead. Analysts believe this proposal would be difficult to conduct due to an unclear electoral roll, as some Sahrawis reside in Western Sahara, while others are in Moroccan refugee camps.

Pro-Algerian media has accused Morocco of systematically displacing the Sahrawi people, mainly through the destruction of homes and the confiscation of land.

The Western Sahara has been a disputed territory since the end of Spanish colonial rule in 1975, with both Morocco and the Polisario Front claiming sovereignty over the region. The 50-year conflict has led Algeria to host an estimated 165,000 Sahrawi refugees in camps such as Tindouf, where they face worsening humanitarian conditions after being forced to flee from the territory. 

Middle East Eye and agencies, Maghrebi.org