Moroccan Wall

The Moroccan Wall, dubbed The Wall of Shame by the Sahrawi natives of Western Sahara, is a 2,500 km-long system of defensive walls/berms: sand and stone walls about three meters in height with bunkers, fences and landmines, running mainly through Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara. A minor section is located in southeastern Morocco.

Related Topics:
Sahrawi - Western Sahara - Defensive wall - Berm - Sand - Stone - Fence - Landmine - Moroccan

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The barrier is longer than the Israeli West Bank barrier and the Berlin Wall. It was gradually built beginning in 1983 with two main functions: to keep the guerrilla fighters of the Polisario Front, which has sought Western Saharan independence since before Spain ended its colonial occupation in 1975, outside and the economically valuable two-thirds of the Western Sahara inside. Effectively, the Polisario controls all areas to the east of the barrier, but these areas are mostly uninhabited.

Related Topics:
Israeli West Bank barrier - Berlin Wall - 1983 - Guerrilla - Polisario Front - Spain - 1975

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A large number of Sahrawi refugees are in the Tindouf province of Algeria, where the Polisario is based. Because the barrier is doubled in many places, with a significant distance between the two halves, many Sahrawis are forced to live in this no-man's-land with profound constraints on mobility and accessibility.

Related Topics:
Tindouf - Algeria - Mobility - Accessibility

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