View source for Free Zone (region)

{{Short description|Region of Western Sahara}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{main|Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic}}
{{Sahara conflict}}
{{Politics of SADR}}
The '''Free Zone''' or '''Liberated Territories''' ({{Langx|ar|المنطقة الحرة|al-minṭaqa al-ḥurra}}) is a term used by the [[Polisario Front]] government of the [[Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic]], a [[List of states with limited recognition|partially recognized sovereign state]] in the western [[Maghreb]], to describe the part of [[Western Sahara]] that lies to the east of a {{convert|2200|km|mi|adj=on}} border wall flanked by a minefield,<ref name="nrc.no">{{cite web|url=http://www.nrc.no/arch/_img/9258989.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080528214406/https://www.nrc.no/arch/_img/9258989.pdf|archive-date=28 May 2008|title=Western Sahara – Africa's last colony}}</ref> often referred as the [[Moroccan Western Sahara Wall|Berm]], and to the west and north of the borders with [[Algeria]] and [[Mauritania]], respectively.  It is controlled by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, as opposed to the area to the west of the Berm, which is controlled by [[Morocco]] as part of its [[Southern Provinces]]. Both states claim the entirety of Western Sahara as their territory.

The zone was consolidated as a Polisario-held zone in a 1991 [[cease-fire]] between the Polisario Front and Morocco, which had been agreed upon together as part of the [[Settlement Plan]]. Morocco controls the [[Southern Provinces|areas west of the Berm]], including most of the territory's population. The cease-fire is overseen by the United Nations' [[MINURSO]] forces, charged with peacekeeping in the area and the organization of a [[referendum]] on independence.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.un.org./en/peacekeeping/missions/minurso/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091204154805/https://www.un.org./en/peacekeeping/missions/minurso/|archive-date=4 December 2009|title=MINURSO}}</ref>

== Status and military agreement ==
[[File:SADR location.png|350px|thumb|left|The [[Moroccan Western Sahara Wall|Berm]] follows the line between the grey and yellow areas.]]

The status of Western Sahara is hotly disputed between Polisario and Morocco, and this includes the names used to refer to areas under the control of the different sides.

Morocco routinely refers to the Polisario-held region as a "buffer zone", or "buffer strip", and claims that Polisario forces are not allowed entry, and that both military activities and civilian construction in this area constitute violations of their cease-fire agreement.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/politics/polisario_tifariti_f/view|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927220535/http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/politics/polisario_tifariti_f/view|archive-date=27 September 2007|title= Polisario Tifariti festivities, an international law violation, minister}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/politics/morocco_brings_to_un/view|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927220812/http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/politics/morocco_brings_to_un/view|archive-date=27 September 2007|title= Morocco brings to UN attention seriousness of actions at buffer strip of other parties to Sahara iss}}</ref> The Polisario Front, on the other hand, claims this does not correspond to the provisions of the agreement regulating the territory's status, which Morocco signed in 1991, and regards the "buffer strip" as only a slim portion of the entire territory. This zone serves as a division-of-forces [[no man's land]]. Areas outside this zone are open to activity by the side that controls them, provided they adhere to some restrictions on military movements. Similarly, Polisario call the areas a "liberated territory" or the "free zone", but this is not an official designation. The UN calls it simply "east of the Berm", and refers to territories under Moroccan control as "west of the Berm", thus not giving sanction to the claims of either party.

According to the [[Settlement Plan]], the movement of Polisario fighters is restricted similarly to how Moroccan forces face restrictions on their side of the Berm. The MINURSO<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.minurso.unlb.org/ceasefire.htm|title=Ceasefire Monitoring|website=minurso.unlb.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070218192806/http://www.minurso.unlb.org/ceasefire.htm|access-date=12 January 2022|archive-date=18 February 2007}}</ref> details the following restrictions for the different zones:
* One {{convert|5|km|mi|sigfig=1|adj=mid|-wide}} Buffer Strip (BS) to the south and east side of the Berm;
* Two {{convert|30|km|mi|adj=mid|-wide}} Restricted Areas (RA) along the Berm. The Buffer Strip is included in the Restricted Area on the POLISARIO (FPOL) side and the Berm is included in the Restricted Area on the [[Military of Morocco]] (RMA) side;
* Two Areas with Limited Restrictions (ALR), which are the two remaining vast, stretches of land of Western Sahara on both sides respectively.

Each of the five parts has specific restrictions as for the two parties' military activities:
* Buffer Strip: No entry of RMA and FPOL personnel and equipment, by ground or air. No firing of weapons in or over the area.
* Restricted Areas: No firing of weapons and/or military training exercises, with the exception of physical training activities of unarmed personnel. No tactical reinforcements, no redeployment or movement of troops, headquarters/units, stores, equipment, ammunition, weapons, no entry of military aircraft and no improvements of defence infrastructures. Some exceptions apply and some activities are allowed after prior information to or approval by MINURSO (Note: these are restrictions in brief, for detailed information please read the MA#1 in full).
* Areas with Limited Restrictions: All normal military activities can be carried out, except the reinforcement of existing minefields, the laying of mines, the concentration of forces, the construction of new headquarters, [[barracks]] and ammunition storage facilities. MINURSO need to be informed if the parties intend to conduct military exercises, including the firing of weapons of a calibre above 9mm.

== Population and activities in the area ==
The population of the territory east of the Wall is estimated to be between 30,000<ref name="nrc.no"/>
and 40,000<ref>[http://www.elpais.com/articulo/sociedad/Vivir/nubes/elpepusoc/20101218elpepusoc_1/Tes Vivir sin nubes] [[El País]], 18 December 2010, {{in lang|es}}</ref> inhabitants. By comparison, it is estimated that [[demographics of Western Sahara|618,600 inhabitants]]<ref>[https://citypopulation.de/en/westernsahara/ City Population: Western Sahara (disputed territory)]</ref> live west of the Wall, of which Moroccan settlers make up at least two thirds. Following the 1975 [[Green March]], the Moroccan state has sponsored [[:Category:Settlement schemes|settlement schemes]] enticing thousands of Moroccans to move into the [[Southern Provinces|Moroccan-occupied part]] (approx. 70% of the [[Western Sahara|disputed territory]]<ref>Kingsbury, D. (Ed.). (2016). Western Sahara: International Law, Justice and Natural Resources (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315660967</ref>).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/06/morocco-western-sahara-referendum-delay|title=Western Sahara's stranded refugees consider renewal of Morocco conflict|date=6 January 2015|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=2 June 2021|archive-date=22 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221222133857/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/06/morocco-western-sahara-referendum-delay|url-status=live}}</ref>

The major settlements on the zone are [[Tifariti]] (current [[temporary capital]]), [[Bir Lehlou]] (former temporary capital), [[Agounit]], [[Dougaj]], [[Meharrize]], [[Mijek]], and [[Zug, Western Sahara|Zug]].

Access is difficult even for Sahrawis due to the harsh climate of the [[Sahara]], the military conflict and the abundance of [[land mine]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.icbl.org/lm/2006/western_sahara.html|title= Western Sahara |website=www.icbl.org|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061126202532/http://www.icbl.org/lm/2006/western_sahara.html|archive-date=26 November 2006}}</ref> The area is inhabited primarily by [[Sahrawi people|Sahrawi]] nomads, that maintain the traditional camel herding of their ancestors, between the zone, northern Mauritania and the refugee camps. There is also a small merchant population, who sell goods to travellers.

Major Sahrawi political events, such as [[Polisario Front#Structure|Polisario congresses]] and opening sessions of the [[Sahrawi National Council]] (the SADR parliament in exile) are held in the zone (especially in [[Tifariti]] and [[Bir Lehlou]]), since it is considered socially, politically and symbolically important to conduct political affairs on Sahrawi land.

== Polisario Force strength ==
[[File:Veronica Forque en el Sáhara libre.jpg|thumb|The Spanish actress [[Verónica Forqué]] at the [[Sahara Film Festival]].]]
The Polisario troops (of the [[Sahrawi People's Liberation Army]] (SPLA)) in the area are divided into seven "military regions", each controlled by a top commander reporting to the [[President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic|President of the Polisario proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic]].<ref name="Bhatia">{{cite web|url=http://www.arso.org/bhatia2001.htm|title=Western Sahara under Polisario Control: Summary Report of Field Mission to the Sahrawi Refugee Camps (near Tindouf, Algeria)|author=Michael Bhatia|date=2001|website=Arso.org|access-date=12 January 2022|archive-date=18 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018112450/http://www.arso.org/bhatia2001.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newint.org/issue297/wall.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021218035935/http://www.newint.org/issue297/wall.html|title= Through a cleared minefield as Moroccan soldiers watch... The liberated wasteland... An underground hospital... and a guerrilla army built on idealism... |archive-date=18 December 2002}}</ref><ref name="Palin">{{cite book|url=http://www.palinstravels.co.uk/book-2056|author=Michael Palin|title=Sahara with Michael Palin|date=2002|isbn=0-297-84303-6|access-date=29 August 2006|archive-date=2 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191202201021/https://www.palinstravels.co.uk/book-2056|url-status=dead}}</ref>    The total size of the Polisario's [[guerrilla warfare|guerrilla]] army present in this area is unknown. Some sources claim between 3,000 and 6,000 men,<ref name="Bhatia"/> while others rise the number up to 12,000,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.un.org/spanish/Depts/dpko/minurso/MINURSO%5B1%5D.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216022932/http://www.un.org/spanish/Depts/dpko/minurso/MINURSO%5B1%5D.pdf|archive-date=16 December 2008|title=MINURSO: UNITED NATIONS MISSION FOR THE REFERENDUM IN WESTERN SAHARA: 1991 to today|url-status=dead}}</ref> with additional combatants stationed in Algeria, Mauritania or having been demobilized due to the [[cease-fire]]. These forces are dug into permanent positions, such as gun emplacements, defensive trenches and underground military bases, as well as conducting mobile patrols of the territory.<ref name="Palin"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/Archive/Article/0,4273,4132213,00.html|title=Saharan rebels stranded in camps, casualties of the stalemate between Morocco and the Algerian-backed Polisario rebels; 100,000 refugees subsist on aid|author=Rory Carroll|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=7 February 2001|access-date=19 December 2016|archive-date=12 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200312214433/https://www.theguardian.com/Archive/Article/0,4273,4132213,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tobysavage.co.uk/Article%20texts/4x4%20mag%20WS%20article.html|title=A Land of Hope and Glory : Toby Savage treads carefully in Western Sahara|author=Toby Savage|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311042705/http://www.tobysavage.co.uk/Article%20texts/4x4%20mag%20WS%20article.html|access-date=12 January 2022|archive-date=11 March 2007}}</ref>

== Incidents in the area ==
A concentration of forces for the commemoration of the Saharawi Republic's 30th anniversary<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spsrasd.info/sps-e270206.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061119132405/http://www.spsrasd.info/sps-e270206.html|archive-date=19 November 2006|title= Commemoration of the Saharawi Republic's 30th anniversary in liberated territories of Western Sahara|publisher=Sahara Press Service}}</ref> were however subject to reproach by the United Nations,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N06/310/51/PDF/N0631051.pdf?OpenElement |title=Ods Home Page |access-date=2006-05-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081009004741/http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N06/310/51/PDF/N0631051.pdf?OpenElement |archive-date=9 October 2008 |df=dmy-all }} Secretary General's report to Security Council on Western Sahara, 19 April 2006</ref> as it was considered an example of a cease-fire violation to bring such a large force concentration into the area.

Minurso reports that there are on average 2–4 such violations in the whole Western Sahara territory each month, between the two sides. In addition to this, there are several more violations related to local commanders on both sides refusing the inspection of their forces by Minurso personnel. As an example, the mission homepage quotes the month of June 2006, when there were "189 such FMO [freedom of movement]-violations, all related to the denial of UNMO [UN military officers] entry into the parties' strong-points and units."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.minurso.unlb.org/ceasefire.htm|title=MINURSO: Ceasefire monitoring|date=18 February 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070218192806/http://www.minurso.unlb.org/ceasefire.htm|access-date=12 January 2022|archive-date=18 February 2007}}</ref>

[[File:Tifariti 2005.jpg|thumb|right|[[Tifariti]], in the northeast of the zone, 2005]]
Annual demonstrations against the Moroccan Wall are staged in the region by Sahrawis and international activists from Spain, Italy and other mainly European countries. These actions are closely monitored by the UN.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N06/310/51/PDF/N0631051.pdf?OpenElement |title=Ods Home Page |access-date=2006-05-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081009004741/http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N06/310/51/PDF/N0631051.pdf?OpenElement |archive-date=9 October 2008 |df=dmy-all }} Secretary General's report to Security Council on Western Sahara, 19 April 2006 (pdf file) {{Dead link|date=January 2022}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[History of Western Sahara]]
*[[List of cities in Western Sahara]]
* [[Safe Zone (Syria)]]
* [[United Nations Safe Areas]]
* [[Demilitarized zone]]
{{-}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Free Zone (region)}}
*[https://www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/map/dpko/minurso.pdf United Nations (Map)] Minurso Deployment as of October 2006, Map No. 3691 Rev. 53 United Nations, October 2006 (Colour), Department of Peacekeeping Operations, Cartographic Section
{{coord|23.349|N|12.933|W|type:country|display=title}}

{{Geographic location
 |Centre    = {{flagicon|SADR}} Free Zone
 |North     = {{flagicon|Morocco}} [[Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara]]
 |Northeast = {{flagu|Algeria}}
 |East      = {{flagu|Mauritania}}
 |Southeast = {{flagu|Mauritania}}
 |South     = {{flagu|Mauritania}}
 |Southwest = {{flagu|Mauritania}}<br />[[Atlantic Ocean]]
 |West      = {{flagicon|Morocco}} [[Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara]]
 |Northwest = {{flagicon|Morocco}} [[Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara]]
}}

{{SADR topics}}
{{Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic}}
{{Western Sahara topics}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Irredentism}}

[[Category:Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic]]
[[Category:Geography of Western Sahara]]
[[Category:Polisario Front]]
[[Category:Western Sahara conflict]]
[[Category:1991 establishments in Western Sahara]]