Reading up on Western Sahara, which has been controlled by Morocco since the seventies, it seems that there are few upsides and a lot of downsides for Morocco to hold on to the territory:
WS, consisting mostly of a whole lot of sand, is inhospitable, has very little infrastructure and requires major subsidies to be inhabitable
To keep controlling it, Morocco has to keep fighting a war against the Polisario Front
WS is not an integral part of the Moroccan nation, and had few Moroccan inhabitants before recent decades
While there are some natural resources, the value of the resources doesn’t outweigh the costs of holding on to the territory
Morocco risks terrorist attacks in its cities by pro-WS independence groups
Morocco occupying WS has and continues to create diplomatic problems for the country, such as its poor relationship with the African Union
To me it seems that Morocco would gain from giving up all claims on WS and pulling out of the territory. Are there any good reasons for Morocco to hold on to it that I’ve missed? Are they hoping that they will discover more natural resources than have been discovered so far? Are there any great strategic reasons for Morroco to hold on to WS?
via Why does Morocco hold on to Western Sahara? : Ask_Politics.
