Morocco scents victory in Western Sahara

THE BATTLEUNEU over Western Sahara has long felt as sluggish as the region’s barely shifting sand dunes. It is almost half a century since Morocco claimed sovereignty over the slice of desert, previously a Spanish possession, that runs 900km (560 miles) along the Atlantic coast, south of Morocco proper. The Polisario Front, an indigenous guerrilla group backed by Morocco’s rival, Algeria, is still fighting for independence. For several decades the rest of the world has looked away, parking the dispute with the and promising the mirage of a referendum on self-determination to settle the issue. In fact, it has been frozen in the baking desert, seemingly for ever. But of late the sands have been swirling.On March 18th Spain abandoned its long-held neutrality and tilted in favour of Morocco. Its prime minister called Morocco’s plan to give the Saharans autonomy within the kingdom “the most serious, realistic and credible”. The gave a cautious thumbs-up to Morocco, too. (The Americans had already recognised the kingdom’s claim in the last days of Donald Trump’s presidency.) Morocco cheered the latest shift. Algeria fumed.