Move is strongest endorsement yet for retained rule over disputed territory, despite fierce opposition from Algeria
The UN security council has approved a US-backed resolution supporting Morocco’s claim to the disputed Western Sahara, despite fierce opposition from Algeria.
Although Friday’s vote was divided, the resolution offers the strongest endorsement yet for Morocco’s plan to keep sovereignty over the territory, which also has backing from most European Union members and a growing number of African allies.
The resolution refers to Morocco’s plan as a basis for negotiation. As with similar resolutions in previous years, the text makes no mention of a referendum on self-determination that includes independence as an option, which is the solution long favoured by the pro-independence Polisario Front and its allies, including Algeria, Russia and China.
Western Sahara is a phosphate-rich stretch of coastal desert the size of Colorado which was under Spanish rule until 1975. It is claimed by Morocco and Polisario Front, which operates from refugee camps in south-western Algeria and claims to represent the Sahrawi people indigenous to the disputed territory.
