Sahara Marathon ~ Timeline: Sahrawi people

August 19th, 2004

Sahara Marathon
Timeline: Sahrawi people


1400s	Nomadic tribes from Yemen arrive in the area of Western Sahara.
1400-1700s	Spain begins exploratory raids in the area, resident tribes fight them off.
Late 1700s	Treaties are signed by the Spaniards and the Moroccans; intensity of fighting diminishes.
1884	Spain claims the area of Western Sahara as a protectorate.
1900	1900 Franco-Spanish Convention defines the southern border of Spain’s Sahrawi colony.
1912	Spanish-French Convention further defines the borders.
1923-34	French forces make headway into Morocco and Mauritania; Western Sahrawi tribesmen resist, leading to a deal between France and Spain to stamp out Sahrawi resistance.
1936	Spain takes full possession of the northern part of the territory.
1950s	Large deposits of high-grade phosphates are discovered in Bucraa.
1956-1958	Sahrawi resistance fighters continue to battle Spain.
1958	An agreement between Spain, France, and Morocco results in a weakening of the Sahrawi liberation army. Further agreements put the area of Saguia el Hamra and Rio de Oro under the authority of Spain.
1961	Western Sahara declared a “Spanish province.”
1963	The U.N. places Western Sahara on the list of countries to be decolonized by resolution 1514.
1966	U.N. ratifies the Sahrawi people’s right to self-rule.
1968	The Sahrawi resistance movement reforms as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el Hamra and Rio de Oro (POLISARIO Front).
1973	The POLISARIO Front begins attacks against Spain.
1975	Spain pulls out of Western Sahara, Moroccan and Mauritanian forces invade, POLISARIO Front forces defend their positions and stage attacks.
1976	POLISARIO Front declares the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), which now serves as a government in exile. Thousands of refugees leave Western Sahara.
1982	Organization of African Unity (OAU) admits SADR as a full-fledged member.
1987	Construction — which began in 1980 — is completed on the Moroccan wall that protects occupation forces from POLISARIO attack.
1988	Morocco and POLISARIO Front accept U.N. peace plan.
1991	A U.N. brokered cease-fire is signed between Western Sahara and Morocco. Morocco sends settlers into the area.
1992	The U.N.-brokered referendum on statehood is delayed following disputes about who is eligible.
1997	James A. Baker III is appointed as U.N. Envoy to Western Sahara.
2004	James Baker resigns as U.N. Envoy in June of 2004. He is replaced by Peruvian diplomat Álvaro de Soto.