Polisario

American  

[poh-li-sahr-ee-oh] / poʊ lɪˈsɑr iˌoʊ /

noun

1. an independence movement opposing Moroccan control of the Western Sahara, a former Spanish territory that Morocco annexed in stages beginning in 1976.

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Etymology

Origin of Polisario

< Spanish ( Frente ) Po ( pular para la ) Li ( beración de ) Sa ( gnia el-Hamra y ) Rí ( o de ) O ( ro ) Popular Front for the Liberation of Sagnia El-Hamra and Río de Oro

Example Sentences

But the sprawling desert city of around 250,000 people remains at the heart of the conflict that has pitted Rabat against the Algiers-backed Polisario Front, which seeks independence for the mainly tribal native Sahrawi people.

From Barron's

When Spain pulled out of Western Sahara in 1975, both Morocco and the Polisario, which was founded two years earlier, claimed the territory.

From Barron's

The Polisario still demands a UN referendum on self-determination -- promised under a 1991 ceasefire but never held.

From Barron's

France now backs Morocco's claim of sovereignty to the territory whereas Algeria supports the pro-independence Polisario Front.

From Barron's

Morocco's king on Friday lauded as "historic" a UN Security Council decision to support his country's plan for Western Sahara, a disputed territory that has provoked decades of conflict between Rabat and the Sahrawi independence movement Polisario, backed by Algeria.

From Barron's