Western Sahara: Sahrawi refugees continue independence fight

As Morocco’s plan for sovereignty over the Western Sahara gains global support, Sahrawi refugees have vowed to continue fighting for an independent homeland, according to Africa News via AFP on April 23rd.

Under Morocco’s Autonomy Plan, the Western Sahara would be granted limited self-governance under Moroccan sovereignty; it is widely perceived as a credible solution to a territorial dispute that has persisted since Spanish colonial rule ended in 1975.

Algeria has rejected that plan and backs the Polisario Front. This separatist militia claims to fight for self-determination for the Sahrawi people, who are indigenous to the Western Sahara and have been displaced after decades of conflict.

The Polisario Front has demanded an independence referendum rather than Moroccan sovereignty, but these calls have been repeatedly rejected.

Plans to designate the Polisario Front a terrorist organisation have received support from the US and several European parliaments.

Many Sahrawi refugees reside in the Tindouf camps in Algeria, which are controlled by the Polisario Front and situated near the Mauritanian border.

Concerns about the camps being an extremist hub led Morocco to join an EU aid monitoring mechanism in January; camp residents are heavily reliant on international aid due to the desert climate of the camps.

Polisario has been accused of inflating camp numbers to secure larger aid allocations and of reselling donated supplies in Algerian and Mauritanian markets.

Sahrawi activists have previously accused Morocco of exploiting its control over the mineral-rich Western Sahara, expressing concern about Morocco’s collaboration with foreign countries to extract resources from the disputed territory.

Despite the international community’s rejection of Polisario’s demands, Sahrawi residents of the Tindouf camps have expressed hope for self-determination.

Within the Tindouf camps, “No to the autonomy plan” is a common refrain among Sahrawis, while 76-year-old Hadjeb Bent Sid Ahmed Ouled Hamma said: “We will never back down. We will never give up on the independence of our country.”

Ouali Ahmed Sidi Moulai stated that refugees cling to “an inalienable right to self-determination”, describing the conflict as “a matter of decolonisation.”

Since 1976, the Polisario Front has recognised the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), which much of the international community does not recognise.

The EU reaffirmed its long-standing non-recognition of the SADR in May 2025, while Mali became the latest country to reject the SADR and back Moroccan sovereignty on April 10th.

Africa News via AFP, Maghrebi.org