The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) (Arabic: الجمهورية العربية الصحراوية الديمقراطية Al-Jumhūrīyyah Al-`Arabīyyah Aṣ-Ṣaḥrāwīyyah Ad-Dīmuqrāṭīyyah; Spanish: República Árabe Saharaui Democrática or RASD) is a partially recognised state that claims sovereignty over the entire territory of Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony. SADR was proclaimed by the Polisario Front on February 27, 1976, in Bir Lehlu, Western Sahara. The SADR government controls about 20-25% of the territory it claims. It calls the territories under its control the Liberated Territories or the Free Zone. Morocco controls and administers the rest of the disputed territory and calls these lands its Southern Provinces. The SADR government considers the Moroccan-held territory to be occupied territory, while Morocco considers the much smaller SADR-held territory to be a buffer zone.
Read more about Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic: History, Constitution and Characteristics, Government Structure, Area of Authority, International Recognition and Membership, Proposed Western Sahara Authority, National Holidays
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