Western Sahara conflict builds up as Morocco gains support from the UK

France, in July 2024, noted that it was siding with Morocco on the matter of its sovereignty over the small country of Western Sahara. This support was to the detriment of Algeria, which also lays claim to the small North African territory.

• France declared its support for Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara in July 2024.
• The United Kingdom joined France in backing Morocco’s proposal for limited autonomy for Western Sahara.
• Morocco’s claim to sovereignty over Western Sahara is endorsed by several Western nations, strengthening diplomatic ties with Morocco.

Recent reports indicate that other Western powerhouses have also followed in France’s footsteps, opting to support the Moroccan side in its quest to seize administrative control of Western Sahara.

The United Kingdom is the latest country to throw its weight behind Morocco, whereby it would have authority over the region while providing it with limited autonomy.

The UK via its Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, noted that this move was the “most credible and viable and pragmatic basis” to resolve the half-century dispute over the region between its neighbours, and other players.

In the last year alone, given France’s support of Morocco’s claim to the region, Algeria, which also aims to gain autonomy over Western Sahara, has been at odds with the Western European nation.

In July 2024, an open letter from France to Morocco’s King Mohammed VI, Emmanuel Macron declared that the “only basis” for resolving the conflict was Morocco’s 2007 proposal to provide Western Sahara limited autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty.

The UK seems to share this sentiment as Lammy stated that “a resolution is long overdue.”

The Foreign Minister, in the same breath, noted that the UK would be strengthening its commercial ties with the monarchy of Morocco, according to a Bloomberg report.

The Western Sahara, which is a huge area of desert and coastline, has been the subject of intense conflict since Morocco invaded after Spanish colonial forces left in 1975.

Over 16 years, sporadic skirmishes with the Polisario Front, which sought independence, cost almost 9,000 lives.

Late in 2020, a three-decade truce broke down. Shortly thereafter, the administration of US President Donald Trump supported Morocco’s claim to the region in an agreement that also saw Rabat consent to reestablish diplomatic relations with Israel.

France’s damaged relationship with Algeria and the Western Sahara dispute

As mentioned above, in July 2024, France aligned with Morocco against Algeria over the sovereignty of the small Western Sahara republic.

Algeria responded sharply to France’s decision by withdrawing its ambassador in August of that year.

Since then, a succession of arrests, expulsions, and public pronouncements have strained the relationship between the two countries.

The most recent events indicate a major deterioration in what has always been a complex and fragile relationship marked by colonial history, immigration, and shared economic interests.