Image caption, Morocco claims Western Sahara as part of its territory ByBasma El Atti Published 44 minutes ago Morocco has welcomed the end of a decades-long UN peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara, after a diplomatic showdown between the US and Russia left the Security Council unable to agree on its future.
The council failed on Friday to renew the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (Minurso) after Russia vetoed a US-backed proposal.
A rival Russian draft to extend the mission also failed to secure enough votes.
The decision raises questions about the future of Africa's longest territorial dispute and the fragile ceasefire between Morocco, which claims Western Sahara, and the Polisario Front which has been fighting for the territory's independence for more than 50 years.
Here is what you need to know.
Why is Western Sahara disputed?
Western Sahara, on Africa's north-west coast, was a Spanish colony until 1975.
It has significant phosphate reserves and valuable fishing grounds along its Atlantic coast.
As Spain prepared to withdraw, both Morocco and Mauritania claimed the territory.
The International Court of Justice found historical ties of allegiance but no territorial sovereignty that overrode the Sahrawi people's right to self-determination.
Morocco's then King Hassan II responded by organising the Green March.
On 6 November 1975 about 350,000 Moroccan civilians entered the territory in a mass demonstration intended to put pressure on Spain.
Days later, Spain signed the Madrid Accords with Morocco and Mauritania, agreeing to transfer administrative control.
Morocco took the northern two-thirds and Mauritania the southern third.
The agreement did not settle the question of sovereignty.
The Polisario Front, an independence movement founded in 1973, opposed the deal.
It saw it as replacing Spanish colonial rule with Moroccan and Mauritanian control.
Mauritania renounced its claim in 1979, but Morocco continued fighting Polisario.
Algeria became Polisario main regional ally, providing military support and hosting its leadership and thousands of Sahrawi refugees in camps near the city of Tindouf.
The North African country says its position is based on the right to self-determination, while Morocco sees Western Sahara as an integral part of its territory.
Morocco and Algeria fought a brief border war in 1963 over disagreements about territory inherited from French colonial rule.
Their relationship has remained tense, with Western Sahara at the centre of their dispute.
What was the UN's mission role?
After 16 years of fighting, Morocco and Polisario agreed to a UN-brokered ceasefire in 1991, with the territory divided by a sand wall, or berm, to keep the rival forces apart.
The UN established Minurso to monitor the ceasefire and organise a referendum on the territory's future.
Sahrawis were meant to choose between independence and integration with Morocco.
The vote was scheduled for 1992 but never took place.
The two sides could not agree on who would be eligible to participate, with disputes over voter identification becoming a major obstacle.
In 2007, Morocco put forward a proposal for autonomy, which would see Sahrawis managing their internal affairs, while Rabat retained control over defence and foreign relations.
Image caption, Thousands of Moroccans marched into Western Sahara in 1975 in what became known as the Green March The Polisario Front and Algeria rejected the plan, insisting on a referendum that included independence as an option.
Years of UN-sponsored negotiations failed to produce a breakthrough.
The ceasefire broke down in November 2020, when Polisario said it was resuming armed struggle.
But following a long diplomatic campaign by Morocco, the UN Security Council voted in 2025 in favour of a resolution backing the autonomy plan as the "most feasible" solution for the disputed territory.
While most Sahrawis live in the part of Western Sahara controlled by Morocco, tens of thousands are estimated to be in refugee camps in Algeria.
What happened at the UN?
The US proposed extending Minurso's mandate for another year, but its draft went beyond the usual renewal.
It would have removed the word "referendum" from the mission's name and made Morocco's autonomy proposal the sole basis for further negotiations.
The draft received the support of 11 of the Security Council's 15 members, including France and the UK but Russia vetoed it, arguing that it was too favourable to Morocco.
Russia then proposed extending Minurso's mandate without changing its terms.
That draft also failed, receiving only two votes in favour.
Minurso's mandate expired at the end of Saturday, 31 October.
The UN said the following day that the mission had entered a liquidation period, with a reduced team overseeing the transfer of military equipment and other assets.
Image caption, The UN mission has been in Western Sahara since 1991 UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the Sahrawi people's right to self-determination must be respected and warned of the risk of renewed hostilities.
The Polisario Front condemned the US proposal.
Its representative, Sidi Omar, thanked Russia for vetoing it, saying it would "torpedo the foundations of the UN peace process" and threaten regional and international peace.
Morocco, meanwhile, said the mission's personnel and equipment should leave the territory in the coming days, arguing that Western Sahara issue should no longer be considered by the Security Council.
Minurso had 155 military personnel and was expected to cost $62m (£46m) in the financial year beginning in June, according to a UN report.
Why is Morocco celebrating the end of the UN mission?
Morocco's royal palace welcomed the failure to renew Minurso's mandate.
In Laayoune, the territory's largest city, footage showed people celebrating, waving Moroccan flags and displaying portraits of King Mohammed VI.
"The decision is an opportunity for Rabat to challenge what it sees as an international mechanism that has failed to resolve the dispute," Issam Laaroussi, a Moroccan expert in international relations, tells the BBC.
He said Morocco would now have more room to push its autonomy proposal and shift negotiations away from a referendum on independence towards autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty.
The decision does not, however, change Western Sahara's legal status or amount to international recognition of Moroccan sovereignty.
Western Sahara remains on the UN list of non-self-governing territories, while the African Union officially recognises its independence, as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR).
But the decision comes after several countries backed the position of Morocco, which in recent years has made securing international support for its claim a central part of its foreign policy.
In 2020, the US recognised Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara as part of an agreement to establish diplomatic relations between Morocco and Israel.
France also backed Morocco's autonomy plan as the basis for resolving the dispute in 2024.
Image caption, Thousands of Sahrawis live in refugee camps in Algeria Morocco rejoined the African Union in 2017, more than three decades after leaving its predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity, in protest at the SADR's admission.
Since returning, Rabat has sought to build support for its position from within the organisation.
At least 10 African countries have opened diplomatic missions in the territory in support of Rabat.
"Morocco is not necessarily seeking to abandon the UN process, but to change the framework for negotiations and draw greater support from regional organisations," says Laaroussi.
Addressing a special joint session of parliament on Monday, House of Representatives Speaker Ahmed Touizi hailed the end of Minurso as a victory for the country's diplomacy.
He said the country should now move from "managing the dispute to implementing its autonomy plan under Moroccan sovereignty, while pressing ahead with development projects in the territory." Could this lead to a renewed war?
The fear is that Minurso's departure could lead to renewed fighting.
The mission has monitored military developments and helped reduce the risk of escalation.
Aid organisation Oxfam warned that losing its monitoring and de-escalation role could undermine stability, with serious consequences for civilians.
Laaroussi admits that the mission's departure could create security gaps.
"Minurso's departure does not create the original conflict, because the conflict is already there, but it could aggravate an already fragile security environment," he says.
The UN decision has also fuelled nationalist rhetoric online.
Several Moroccan users have shared AI-generated images of themselves in military uniform, declaring their readiness to fight for Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara.
In Morocco, Western Sahara is widely regarded as a national cause.
Political parties that are often divided on other issues are united in supporting the country's claim to sovereignty over the territory.
Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita has said the end of the mission does not mean the end of the ceasefire, and that Rabat remains committed to it "within respect of its security and sovereignty." Polisario has not said what it will do next.
Any resumption of fighting could well draw in Algeria, as tensions with Morocco remain high.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), both countries significantly increased military spending last year, with SIPRI citing their dispute over Western Sahara as a key driver.
Algeria spent an estimated $25.4bn, more than four time Morocco's $6.3bn.
More about Western Sahara from the BBC: Morocco wants tourists to visit Western Sahara.
Some say it's tightening its control Published 25 May Morocco declares public holiday to mark UN approval of its Western Sahara plan Published 5 November 2025 Go to BBCAfrica.com, external for more news from the African continent.
