Western Sahara: Battle for Oil Fuels Africa’s Lengthy Conflict

Sep 17, 2014 | Javier Blas, The Financial Times
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When the drillship Atwood Achiever begins the search for oil off the coast of Western Sahara later this year, it will not only test geology, but also plunge into a 40-year-old conflict in what some call Africa’s last remaining colony.

Western Sahara, an arid and sparsely populated strip of land larger than the UK, has been occupied by Morocco since 1975, when Spain abandoned its former colony. Since then its indigenous Sahrawi people have fought an often-violent campaign for independence while the UN has sought to broker a peace deal.