Last week, the Trump administration decided to kick open one of the world’s longest-running conflicts on its way out the door, with potentially far-reaching consequences for North Africa and the Sahel. In a series of tweets on Thursday, President Donald Trump announced that he had signed a proclamation recognising Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, a largely desert territory contested by Morocco and the pro-independence Polisario Front since 1975.
Trump’s decision followed the breakdown last month of a UN-brokered ceasefire signed in 1991. The United States’ recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the territory – one of Morocco’s highest foreign policy priorities – came in return for what the White House hailed as the normalisation of ties between Israel and Morocco. The move was part of Trump’s sponsorship of the Abraham Accords, under which the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have also recognised Israel (and Sudan agreed to take steps towards this in autumn)
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