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Tiris al-Gharbiyya ( ar, تيرس الغربية, links=, lit=Western Tiris, translit=Tīris al-Ġarbiyya) was the name for the area of
Western Sahara Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), while the ...
under Mauritanian control between 1975 and 1979.


Background

Mauritania annexed the southern third of the former
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state' ...
of
Spanish Sahara Spanish Sahara ( es, Sahara Español; ar, الصحراء الإسبانية, As-Sahrā'a Al-Isbānīyah), officially the Spanish Possessions in the Sahara from 1884 to 1958 then Province of the Sahara between 1958 and 1976, was the name used f ...
in 1975 after the
Madrid Accords The Madrid Accords, formally the Declaration of Principles on Western Sahara, was a treaty between Spain, Morocco, and Mauritania setting out six principles which would end the Spanish presence in the territory of Spanish Sahara and arrange a t ...
, with
Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
taking the northern two-thirds (
Saguia el-Hamra Saguia el-Hamra ( es, Saguía el Hamra, ar, الساقية الحمراء, lit=Red Canal, translit=al-Saqiyah al-Hamra'a) was, with Río de Oro, one of the two territories that formed the Spanish province of Spanish Sahara after 1969. Its name ...
and the northern half of
Río de Oro Río de Oro (Spanish for "Gold River"; , ''wādī-að-ðahab'', often transliterated as ''Oued Edhahab'') was, with Saguia el-Hamra, one of the two territories that formed the Spanish province of Spanish Sahara after 1969; it had been taken as ...
) as its
Southern Provinces The Southern Provinces ( ar, الأقاليم الجنوبية, Al-Aqalim al-Janubiyah, french: Provinces du Sud) or Moroccan Sahara ( ar, الصحراء المغربية, Assahra al-Maghribiya, french: Sahara marocain) are the terms used by th ...
. Both countries claimed historical rights over the area, while the United Nations demanded that the
indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...
population ( Sahrawis) had a
right to self-determination The right of a people to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law (commonly regarded as a ''jus cogens'' rule), binding, as such, on the United Nations as authoritative interpretation of the Charter's norms. It stat ...
, and should be allowed to decide through a referendum whether the territory should join either of the neighbouring states, or be established as an independent country. The latter was the preferred option of the
Polisario Front The Polisario Front, Frente Polisario, Frelisario or simply Polisario, from the Spanish abbreviation of (Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro), (in ar, rtl=yes, الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير الس ...
, a Sahrawi organization which turned its guerrilla forces against both countries, having until then fought Spain. Its attacks against Mauritania proved highly effective. Polisario strikes against the iron mines at Zouerate, as well as the costs of the war effort, soon brought the country to the brink of
economic An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...
collapse, and produced increasing tensions in the
army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
and government apparatus. In 1978, the one-party government of
Moktar Ould Daddah Moktar Ould Daddah ( ar, مختار ولد داداه, Mukhtār Wald Dāddāh; December 25, 1924 – October 14, 2003) was a Mauritanian politician who led the country after it gained its independence from France. Daddah served as the country's ...
was severely compromised by the failing war effort, and fell to a coup by disgruntled army officers. Mauritania then disengaged from the conflict, surrendering its claims to any part of Western Sahara, and pulling out its troops. The areas occupied by Mauritania were entered by Morocco, which has since claimed ownership over the entire territory, despite continued opposition by Polisario, and its main backer,
Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...
. Mauritanian president
Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla Ret. Col. Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidallah ( ar, محمد خونا ولد هيداله ''Muḥammad Khouna Wald Haidallah'') (born 1940) was the head of state of Mauritania (Chairman of the Military Committee for National Salvation, CMSN) from 4 Ja ...
in 1984 proceeded to recognize the Polisario-backed
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (; SADR; also romanized with Saharawi; ar, الجمهورية العربية الصحراوية الديمقراطية ' es, República Árabe Saharaui Democrática), also known as Western Sahara, is a ...
(SADR) as the legitimate sovereign of the area. After his toppling in yet another military coup d'état later the same year, this position was increasingly downplayed – though never explicitly overturned – in order to appease Morocco.


Borders and characteristics

Western Tiris was the lower half of
Río de Oro Río de Oro (Spanish for "Gold River"; , ''wādī-að-ðahab'', often transliterated as ''Oued Edhahab'') was, with Saguia el-Hamra, one of the two territories that formed the Spanish province of Spanish Sahara after 1969; it had been taken as ...
, the southern province of the former
Spanish Sahara Spanish Sahara ( es, Sahara Español; ar, الصحراء الإسبانية, As-Sahrā'a Al-Isbānīyah), officially the Spanish Possessions in the Sahara from 1884 to 1958 then Province of the Sahara between 1958 and 1976, was the name used f ...
, comprising with a population of 12,897. It consisted mostly of barren desert terrain, scarcely populated except by some thousands of Sahrawi nomads, many of whom had fled towards the Algerian Tindouf Province in 1975. A few minor settlements dotted the coast, and the largest of these, Dakhla (formerly Villa Cisneros), was made the provincial capital. While some reports indicate the territory may hold important quantities of mineral resources such as iron – and there is speculation, but no proof of, off-shore oil – the war prevented any serious exploration efforts. It remains mostly unexplored and unexploited to this day. The exception is the rich Atlantic fishing waters. They were never put to use by Mauritania, but have since been fished by Morocco and foreign ships under Moroccan licenses. The name "Tiris" refers to a desert plain of the Sahara. Mauritania's northernmost province (in its internationally recognized territory) is similarly called
Tiris Zemmour Tiris Zemmour ( ar, ولاية تيرس زمور) is the northernmost region of Mauritania. Its capital is Zouérat. Other major cities/towns include F'dérik and Bir Moghrein. The region borders Algeria to the north-east, Mali to east, the Mau ...
, where "Zemmour" refers to a mountain range in central Western Sahara. The Ould Daddah government's claims to the territory was based in the strong cultural and tribal ties between the
Moor Moor or Moors may refer to: Nature and ecology * Moorland, a habitat characterized by low-growing vegetation and acidic soils. Ethnic and religious groups * Moors, Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, Iberian Peninsula, Sicily, and Malta during ...
ish inhabitants of Mauritania, and the tribes of Western Sahara. The government argued they were all part of the same people, and also put forth the notion of pre-colonial sovereignty by certain Mauritanian
emirate An emirate is a territory ruled by an emir, a title used by monarchs or high officeholders in the Muslim world. From a historical point of view, an emirate is a political-religious unit smaller than a caliphate. It can be considered equivalen ...
s (tribal fiefdoms) over some of these tribes. Before of the
International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...
, Mauritania claimed in 1975 that the entire
Spanish Sahara Spanish Sahara ( es, Sahara Español; ar, الصحراء الإسبانية, As-Sahrā'a Al-Isbānīyah), officially the Spanish Possessions in the Sahara from 1884 to 1958 then Province of the Sahara between 1958 and 1976, was the name used f ...
had historically constituted part of " Bilad Chinguetti", which it argued had been an undeclared tribal and religious community. But it also recognized that there had never been a Mauritanian state to claim the territory, since Mauritania itself was a modern-day creation of
French colonialism The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas colonies, protectorates and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "First French Colonial Empire", that existe ...
. The court recognized the importance of these cultural links, but announced that they had not constituted sovereignty over the territory or its inhabitants before colonialism, and could not by themselves justify sovereignty today. Instead, it recommended a standard self-determination process where Sahrawis were given the choice of merger with Mauritania and/or Morocco, or independence.International Court of Justice – Western Sahara – Advisory Opinion of 16 October 1975.


Present Mauritanian position

In later years, the
Mauritanian government The first fully democratic Presidential election since 1960 occurred on 2007 Mauritanian presidential election, 11 March 2007. The election was the final transfer from military to civilian rule following the military coup in 2005. This was the fi ...
has maintained a policy of strict neutrality between Polisario and Morocco, while retaining its recognition of the SADR. Minor parts of the Mauritanian political opposition will occasionally express interest in the area, although direct advocacy for retaking it is very rare. Other groups support either Polisario or Morocco. The official position of most parties is to support any outcome acceptable to both remaining sides of the conflict, and that has also been the government's position since the late 1980s, even if it has varied in tune with relations with Morocco. The territory is now effectively divided between Moroccan and Polisario forces along the length of the
Moroccan Wall The Moroccan Western Sahara Wall or Berm is an approximately sand wall or berm running south to north through Western Sahara and the southwestern portion of Morocco. It separates the Moroccan-controlled areas (the Southern Provinces) on the w ...
, and with a cease-fire in effect pending the outcome of the United Nations
decolonization Decolonization or decolonisation is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. Some scholars of decolonization focus especially on separatism, in ...
process.


See also

* Free Zone (Parts of Western Sahara under SADR/Polisario control) *
History of Western Sahara The history of Western Sahara can be traced back to the times of Carthaginian explorer Hanno the Navigator in the 5th century BC. Though few historical records are left from that period, Western Sahara's modern history has its roots linked to som ...
* History of Mauritania * Regions of Mauritania *
Southern Provinces The Southern Provinces ( ar, الأقاليم الجنوبية, Al-Aqalim al-Janubiyah, french: Provinces du Sud) or Moroccan Sahara ( ar, الصحراء المغربية, Assahra al-Maghribiya, french: Sahara marocain) are the terms used by th ...
(Parts of Western Sahara under Moroccan control)


References

{{Regions of Mauritania History of Western Sahara History of Mauritania States and territories established in 1975 1979 disestablishments