Ghana ends support to Western Sahara, backs Moroccan autonomy plan instead

Ghana had supported the Sarahwi Arab Democratic Republic, established by the independence-seeking Polisario Front, since 1979.

But the decades of support and recognition have come to an end: Accra announced on Thursday, following a meeting between the Ghanaian and Moroccan foreign ministers, that it would from now on endorse Rabat's plan for autonomy of the territory, which is modeled on the concept of Spanish autonomous regions like the Basque Country or Catalonia.

The plan has so far not been accepted by the Algeria-backed Polisario front, which controls around 30% of the territory in Western Sahara, with the rest largely being under Moroccan control.

The Western Sahara conflict finds its origins in the end of the Spanish colony in the region in 1975. The Polisario Front started an insurgency against the Spanish colonial forces, before waging a sixteen-year-long war of independence against Morocco and Mauritania.

But the Sarahwi Arab Democratic Republic established by the Polisario Front has found only limited international recognition over time.

Despite being recognised at some points by as many as 80 countries, a number of states have since withdrawn or "frozen" their support.

Ghana is thus the latest in a growing list of countries turning to back Morocco in the resolution of the decades-long conflict instead.