Cultural Heritage and Conflict: The Threatened Archaeology of Western Sahara

Western Sahara, formerly known as the Spanish Sahara, has been the subject of a territorial dispute between Morocco and the indigenous Frente Polisario independence movement since the withdrawal of Spain, the former colonial power, in 1975. Bordering Morocco, Algeria and Mauritania, Western Sahara has been described as the ‘last colony in Africa’, and its situation has often been compared with that of East Timor before the latter’s recent independence from Indonesia. ¹