The Coat of arms of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is a symbol created by the

Polisario Front The Polisario Front, Frente Polisario, Frelisario or simply Polisario, from the Spanish abbreviation of (Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro), (in ar, rtl=yes, الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير الس� ...

, the national

liberation movement A liberation movement is an organization or political movement leading a rebellion, or a non-violent social movement, against a colonial power or national government, often seeking independence based on a nationalist identity and an anti-imperial ...

Western Sahara Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), while the ...

. The Polisario Front proclaimed the

Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (; SADR; also romanized with Saharawi; ar, الجمهورية العربية الصحراوية الديمقراطية ' es, República Árabe Saharaui Democrática), also known as Western Sahara, is a ...

on February 27, 1976, and both the flag and the coat of arms were adopted as state symbols. The territory of

is a disputed territory, claimed by: *

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

, which controls and administers about 80% of the territory. Currently, the coats of arms of the Moroccan regions of Western Sahara are used in this part of Western Sahara. * The

and the government-in-exile of the

or SADR claim the independence of the territory. The coat of arms of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic are used by these two bodies.

Description

The symbol depicts two crossed rifles with the SADR flag hanging from either Mauser. Centered above them is a red

crescent A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself. In Hinduism, Lord Shiva is often shown wearing a crescent moon on his ...

and star, Islamic and

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

imagery. Surrounding the guns and crescent are two

olive branch The olive branch is a symbol of peace and victory associated with customs of ancient Greece and connected with supplication to gods and persons in power. It is found in most cultures of the Mediterranean basin and became associated with peace ...

es, one on either side. At the bottom is written in

the Polisario motto "حرية ديمقراطية وحدة" () in black on a red banner. Until June 1991 when it was modified, it also contained a hammer between the rifles.

History

In the late 19th-century, Western Sahara formally became a Spanish colony. After the

Green March The Green March was a strategic mass demonstration in November 1975, coordinated by the Moroccan government, to force Spain to hand over the disputed, autonomous semi-metropolitan province of Spanish Sahara to Morocco. At that time, the Span ...

pressure and the

Madrid Accords The Madrid Accords, formally the Declaration of Principles on Western Sahara, was a treaty between Spain, Morocco, and Mauritania setting out six principles which would end the Spanish presence in the territory of Spanish Sahara and arrange a t ...

of 1975,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

unilaterally disengaged itself leaving the territory to Morocco and Mauritania, who split the territory, giving two thirds to the former, in a movement that was not recognized by the UN. The

rejected this illegal move and declared in

Bir Lehlou Bir Lehlou (also transliterated ''Bir Lahlou'', ''Bir Lehlu'' Arabic: بئر الحلو) is an oasis town in north-eastern Western Sahara, 236 km from Smara, near the Mauritanian border and east of the border wall, in Polisario Front-held terr ...

, the

(SADR) as the state representing an independent Western Sahara. In 1979, Mauritania signed a peace treaty with the Polisario front, and Morocco annexed the part formerly controlled by Mauritania. A U.N.-brokered ceasefire was signed in 1991 between the two parties, but the sovereignty of the territory remains unresolved pending ongoing peace-talks.

Coat of arms of Spanish Sahara

The Coat of arms of Laâyoune or El Aaiún was used for the Spanish colony of

Spanish Sahara Spanish Sahara ( es, Sahara Español; ar, الصحراء الإسبانية, As-Sahrā'a Al-Isbānīyah), officially the Spanish Possessions in the Sahara from 1884 to 1958 then Province of the Sahara between 1958 and 1976, was the name used f ...

. It was granted by the Spanish Government (Presidencia del Gobierno). The Order of 25th of October 1955 was published in the Boletín Oficial del Estad
Nr. 334 on 30th of November 1955
Its blason is: ''De sinople o verde: la banda ondeada, representando el agua, de plata y azur; en jefe, la palmera, de su color; y, en punta, la cabeza de camello, al natural. Bordura, de gules, cuatro castillos de oro, mazonados, alternando con cuatro leones de plata.'' That is: Vert a bend wawy Argent and Azure (alternatively: ''„charged with three bendlets wawy Azure“''), representing water, in chief a palm tree and in base a natural head of a camel. A

bordure In heraldry, a bordure is a band of contrasting tincture forming a border around the edge of a shield, traditionally one-sixth as wide as the shield itself. It is sometimes reckoned as an ordinary and sometimes as a subordinary. A bordure encl ...

Gules with four castles Or and three lions rampant Argent.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Western Sahara, coats of arms