Morocco: Holiday to mark UN support for Western Sahara autonomy plan

Morocco’s king has declared a new national holiday to mark the United Nations Security Council’s adoption of a resolution backing Rabat’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara.

The Royal Palace said that starting next year, 31 October will be known as Unity Day, to honour Morocco’s territorial integrity.

The resolution says that genuine autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty could be the “most feasible” solution to the 50-year conflict.

The Western Sahara has been the scene of Africa's longest-running territorial dispute since the departure of colonial power Spain in 1975.

Morocco considers the territory its own while the Algeria-backed Polisario Front wants to establish an independent state called the Sahrawi Republic.