Released by Spain on 28 February 1976 and immediately seized by Morocco
Independence from Morocco not yet achieved
From 1958 to 1975 this was a Spanish Overseas Province. In 1975 an International Court of Justice granted self-determination to Western Sahara. Unfortunately this prompted Morocco's King Hassan to order 350,000 people on the Green March, and the Saharan capital, Laayoune, was captured by Morocco's forces.
In 1976 Morocco and Mauritania partitioned Western Sahara, but Mauritania renounced its claim in 1979 and Morocco seized the whole country. (In 1987 Morocco completed a defensive wall around Western Sahara.) A resistance front, the Polisario, was formed in 1983 to fight for independence.
In 1991, under UN jurisdiction both sides agree to a cease fire but sporadic fighting still continues. Despite a UN referendum, the status of western Sahara remains in dispute.
Find out more:
• History of Western Sahara