The Southern Provinces ( ar, الأقاليم الجنوبية, Al-Aqalim al-Janubiyah, french: Provinces du Sud) or Moroccan Sahara ( ar, الصحراء المغربية, Assahra al-Maghribiya, french: Sahara marocain) are the terms used by the Moroccan government for the disputed territory of

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 ...

. These two Moroccan terms explicitly include all of Western Sahara, which spans three of the country's 12 top-level administrative regions. A frequent use of the term "Southern Provinces" is found for example in Moroccan state television (such as weather forecasts, displayed maps on the news, and government statements).

Background

Western Sahara was previously a Spanish colony known as the

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 ...

. Towards the 1970s, Spain faced increasing pressure from

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 ...

to hand over the territory, culminating in 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 Spa ...

, a mass demonstration coordinated by the Moroccan government that was launched on November 6, 1975. The Green March was organized to pressure Spain into giving Western Sahara to Morocco. 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 ...

, which were ratified 12 days after the Green March, stated that Spain would leave the Western Sahara by February 28, 1976 at the latest. Morocco and Mauritania signed the Western Sahara partition agreement on April 14, 1976, which caused Morocco to take control of

Saguia el-Hamra Saguia el-Hamra ( es, Saguía el Hamra, ar, الساقية الحمراء, lit=Red Canal, translit=al-Saqiyah al-Hamra'a) was, with Río de Oro, one of the two territories that formed the Spanish province of Spanish Sahara after 1969. Its name ...

, and the northern part of

Río de Oro Río de Oro ( Spanish for "Gold River"; , ''wādī-að-ðahab'', often transliterated as ''Oued Edhahab'') was, with Saguia el-Hamra, one of the two territories that formed the Spanish province of Spanish Sahara after 1969; it had been taken a ...

, while Mauritania took control of the remaining part of Río de Oro, renamed as

Tiris al-Gharbiyya Tiris al-Gharbiyya ( ar, تيرس الغربية, links=, lit=Western Tiris, translit=Tīris al-Ġarbiyya) was the name for the area of Western Sahara under Mauritanian control between 1975 and 1979. Background Mauritania annexed the southern ...

. A locally based Sahrawi national liberation movement, known as 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� ...

, launched a

guerrilla war Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run tactic ...

, with the crucial financial and logistical backing of

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , religi ...

and

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Su ...

, aiming to win independence of the territory under 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 ...

" (SADR). Following bloody clashes with the Polisario troops (SPLA) and deteriorating ties with Algeria, Mauritania pulled out in 1979 and gave up its share in the Western Sahara in order to avoid further complicated conflicts with the Sahrawi Republic, Algeria, and Morocco. Morocco then seized the opportunity and took control of the remaining part of Río de Oro as well, which had been recognized by the Moroccan government as Mauritanian a few years earlier. Since a

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...

-sponsored ceasefire agreement in 1991, about two thirds of the territory is administered by Morocco, including the majority of the coast. This territory is separated by the Moroccan Western Sahara Wall or "the Berm" from the Polisario Front-controlled eastern third, which the Polisario Front calls the " Free Zone". The ceasefire line corresponds to the route of the Berm. Both sides claim sovereignty over the territory of Western Sahara in its entirety. The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic has been recognized by 84 nations, and is a full member of the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of member states of the African Union, 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling fo ...

, but not of the UN. Moroccan territorial integrity is implicitly recognized by the Arab League with strong reservations from Algeria and Syria.

Overview

The Moroccan government controls and administers roughly two thirds of Western Sahara (the part west of the

Berm A berm is a level space, shelf, or raised barrier (usually made of compacted soil) separating areas in a vertical way, especially partway up a long slope. It can serve as a terrace road, track, path, a fortification line, a border/ separation ...

), while the rest makes up the Polisario Front-controlled

. The two thirds of Western Sahara that are controlled by Morocco are treated by the government as sovereign Moroccan territory. The government conducts various economic and social development programs and includes these "Southern Provinces" in the national budget of government funding, national sport competitions, education programs, and national parliamentary elections. The entire Western Sahara has a population of about 576,000.> Government and private companies exploit coastal areas for fishing and the land areas for phosphate mining. Administratively, Morocco divided the territory under its control into administrative units (''wilayas''). Flags and coats of arms were created for the three wilayas of

Boujdour Boujdour (or Bujdur, Bojador, ar, بوجدور) is a city in the disputed territory of Western Sahara, near Cape Bojador. It is de facto administered by Morocco, which includes it in the administrative division of the Southern Provinces. It is ...

, Smara and

Laayoune Laâyoune ( , also , ) or El Aaiún ( , ; Hassaniya Arabic: , romanized: ; ber, ⵍⵄⵢⵓⵏ, Leɛyun; ar, label=Literary Arabic, العيون, al-ʿUyūn/el-ʿUyūn, lit=The Springs) is the largest city of the disputed territory of Wes ...

. There were further changes in the territories in 1983, with the area becoming four wilayas through the addition of Dakhla. In 1990 Wadi al-Dhahab (

) was added. The current organisation of the Morocco occupied Southern Provinces, , consists of three regions:

Guelmim-Oued Noun Guelmim-Oued Noun ( ar, ڭلميم-وادي نون, gulmīm wādī nūn; ber, ⴳⵓⵍⵎⵉⵎ ⴰⵙⵉⴼ ⵏⵓⵏ, gulmim asif nun) is one of the twelve regions of Morocco. The southeastern part of the region is located in the disputed ...

in the north, Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra in the centre, and Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab in the south. These, in turn, are divided into ten provinces. The regions of

and Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra include some territories lying in

as well as some undisputed Moroccan territories, lying just to the north. Morocco has assigned a special satellite TV channel for the "Southern Provinces", called Laayoun TV.

Moroccan settlers

Following the 1975

, the Moroccan state has sponsored settlement schemes enticing thousands of Moroccans to move into the Moroccan-occupied part of Western Sahara (80% of the territory). By 2015, it was estimated that Moroccan settlers made up at least two thirds of the 500,000 inhabitants. In addition to guaranteeing a

right of return The right of return is a principle in international law which guarantees everyone's right of voluntary return to, or re-entry to, their country of origin or of citizenship. The right of return is part of the broader human rights concept freedom ...

for the

Sahrawi refugees Sahrawi refugees refers to the refugees of the Western Sahara War (1975–1991) and their descendants, who are still mostly populating the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf, Algeria. History The biggest concentration of Sahrawi refugees was crea ...

, the Sahrawi

government in exile A government in exile (abbreviated as GiE) is a political group that claims to be a country or semi-sovereign state's legitimate government, but is unable to exercise legal power and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile u ...

has indicated a willingness to offer Sahrawi citizenship to Moroccan settlers and their descendants in a future independent state.Canadian Government Website report on SADR offer of citizenship to Moroccan settlers
/ref>

References

{{Western Sahara topics, state=collapsed Former regions of Morocco History of Western Sahara Disputed territories in Africa Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic States and territories established in 1971 States and territories disestablished in 1997 1971 establishments in Morocco 1970s establishments in Western Sahara 1997 disestablishments in Africa Geographical naming disputes