Western Sahara was under Spanish occupation until 1975.
They declared Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) as an independent state and war broke out.
In 1979, Mauritania withdrew but Morocco kept occupation of the area.
Around this time, Morocco began building a huge 2,700-km-long sand-berm dividing the territory longitudinally into two regions.
Map of Western Sahara.
The Berm is shown in red.
Serious injuries, loss of limbs and deaths from accidental detonation of these landmines is frequent among civilians.
The United Nations doesnt recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara.
They maintain that the Sahrawis have a right to self-determination.
Morocco has economic interest in Western Sahara.
The region is rich in phosphate reserves and the waters are plenty of fish.
There is also speculation that there may be off-shore oil and natural gas fields.
The Western Saharas much-touted phosphate reserves are relatively unimportant, representing less than two percent of national holdings.
Satellite image of a part of the Moroccan Wall showing a fort.
The wall manned by Moroccan soldiers.
Photo credit:Michele Benericetti/Wikimedia
Old Polisario Wall, Morocco, Western Sahara.
Photo credit:Stefan Grossmann/Panoramio
Sources:Wikipedia/The Week/Aljazeera/DW/removethewall.org
