Western Sahara is a country located in the north-west of the Atlantic coast of Africa. In ancient and Arabic sources, it appeared as Seguiet el Hamra and Rio de Oro, i.e. Red Stream and Golden Valley (Gaudio, 1969, p. 227). As for the size of the population, data from sources vary greatly. Spanish sources from 1974, which are usually referred to by the UN, indicate that the population of Western Sahara was 73,497 people. The Frente POLISARIO claims that the number of citizens living within the country is approximately 500 thousand people. As for the indigenous people, we are talking primarily about Berber tribes that mixed with representatives of the black population of Africa and with Arabs who came here from Yemen [An-Nasiri, 1959, p. 82; Al-Yaqubi, 1995, p. 191-194; Chassey, 1979, p. 24]. This region was part of the Maghreb, being part of the first Umayyad and then Abbasid caliphates. Subsequently, Islamic states succeeded each other in the Maghreb, and this region has always been part of these states. It can be said that the historical significance of this area began to manifest itself more visibly after the creation of the Almoravid and Almohad states (1066-1225), which covered the Maghreb, Mali, and northern Senegal (Bouaziz, 1975, p.63). Arabic is currently the main language of Western Sahara. Its inhabitants speak, like the population of Mauritania, a special dialect - hassaniyya.

After the collapse of the Almohad Empire in the thirteenth century, the entire Arab Maghreb was in decline. One of the manifestations of this is the large number of power centers that were at war with each other. At the same time, there was a process of unification of the Catholic states of the Iberian Peninsula with the aim of expelling the Arabs from Spain, and then - further advance with the aim of occupying and finally seizing the coastal areas of North Africa.

Despite the fact that Spain was largely occupied with the conquest and colonization of Central and South America from the end of the 15th century, it was able to establish its dominance over the Canary Islands inhabited by Berbers, as well as in several small areas of northwestern Africa-Ceuta, Melilla, Tarfaya, Red Creek - in the middle of the same century. and the Golden Valley. On December 26, 1884, Spain declared its protectorate over Western Sahara. The Spaniards made the city of Ad Dahlia its center, renamed Villa Cisneros (in honor of Cardinal Cisneros , the main inspiration for the Spanish expansion to North Africa). From here, they began to make trips to other parts of Africa (Belhamisi, 1976, p. 58; Suduk, 1983, p. 35).

France's expansion in the Maghreb provoked its confrontation with Spain, which lost its sharpness only after the conclusion of a number of demarcation agreements

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borders between their colonies. The first agreement was signed on 27.06.1900 in Paris. In accordance with it, the eastern and southern borders of the Golden Valley were determined. Under the second agreement, also signed in Paris on October 3, 1904, the borders of the Golden Valley were changed. Spain pledged to cede part of the occupied territories, transferring them to the subordination of France, while cooperating with the latter in some commercial projects. The third agreement was signed in Madrid on November 27, 1912. In accordance with it, the borders of the Red Stream and the Golden Valley were finally fixed. At the same time, Spain has established its dominance over the Western Sahara region, claiming that there is no real authority there. Spain considered that this region did not have its own master ("Terri-toire sans Maitre") [Yahya, 1981, p. 515; Suduk, 1983, p. 36]. Nevertheless, it was during this period that Spain signed several agreements establishing its protectorate over certain tribes, intending to use collusion with their leaders as a means to assert its rule here. But Spain had not yet achieved a lasting dominance in the region due to the growing resistance of the local population, especially after the latter became convinced of the treachery of the Spaniards and used the differences and sharp confrontation between France and Spain in the struggle for spheres of influence [Chassey, 1979, p.24].

Thus ended the first period in the history of Spain's colonial policy in Western Sahara. One of its important features was that the Spanish colonialists constantly made attempts to consolidate their dominance in the region and implement some colonial projects. However, the strong resistance of local tribes was an obstacle to the implementation of these goals. After a relative lull in the late 1920s. the second period began, which lasted from 1934 until the 60s of the last century. Mineral deposits, mainly phosphates, have been found in the region. But Spain was a weak State and could only establish its rule over Western Sahara with the help of France. This inevitably led to a rapprochement between the two powers on the question of colonies, especially in the context of the growing resistance of the peoples of these colonies and the rise of the national liberation movement, which enjoyed considerable popular support [Yahya, 1966, p.97-98; Al-Fasi, 1948, p. 96-105].

In the 1960s, the third stage of Spanish colonization of the region began, which lasted until 1975. It differed to some extent from the previous ones in that after the discovery of phosphate, iron ore, lead and zinc deposits, Spanish companies expanded their presence; some changes were made in the social sphere in accordance with the economic and social development program announced by the Spanish Government in 1966. This program was intended to create the infrastructure foundations in order to facilitate the exploitation of the region's natural resources. A number of schools were opened, the number of students in which by 1972 was about 2,600 people, and berths for fishing vessels were built. Since 1961, the Spanish Constitution has been in force on the territory of Western Sahara. Large numbers of Spanish citizens began to arrive in Western Sahara, clearly preparing for the displacement of the indigenous people. For the same purpose, the Spanish authorities simultaneously encouraged emigration, providing emigrants with all sorts of benefits [Suduk, 1983, p. 40].

At this time, Spain was trying to establish legally its colonial claims. The Spanish authorities forced 800 indigenous citizens to sign a document approving the Spanish protectorate and confirming the indissoluble connection of Western Sahara with the "mother country". Spain legally formalized this document for submission to the UN [Assidon, 1978, p. 37]. On December 19, 1967, the Spanish government formed a local majlis of 32 deputies, in order to provide for the creation of a new parliament.-

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give their government in Western Sahara an image of legitimacy. However, the powers of the Mejlis were extremely limited, and this step was purely formal in nature [Barbier, 1982, p. 37]. The Spaniards have taken other steps to finally include the region in the "metropolis", in particular, they have allocated three seats in the Cortes-the Spanish Parliament-for deputies from Western Sahara. In accordance with the law on the creation of the "Sugar region", adopted in January 1958, the administration of the region was assumed by the Governor, who was subordinate to the Cabinet of Ministers of Spain. Despite the UN resolutions adopted in the 60s of the XX century, Spain continued to cling to Western Sahara and refused to implement these resolutions [Suduk, 1983, p. 41]. It withdrew from Western Sahara only as a result of intense pressure, and then the Madrid Agreement of November 14, 1975 was signed between Spain and two other parties that had claims to Western Sahara - Morocco and Mauritania. In order to end this conflict, Spain agreed to sign the agreement in the form that Morocco and Mauritania were satisfied with.

* * *

The resistance of the people of Western Sahara to the Spanish occupation was not continuous. It sometimes flared up, sometimes subsided, but was revived and activated whenever there were reasons and opportunities for it.

The resistance went through three stages, corresponding to the stages of Spanish colonization. At the first stage, the resistance was mostly under the leadership of tribal sheikhs, as well as Sufi scholars. One of the most famous movements in the Sahara at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries was that of Sheikh Ma al-Ainein Bin-Mohammad al-Fadl, a native of the Sanhaji (Berber) Khamis tribe. Sources indicate that Sheikh Ma al-Aynein's family had its roots at the top of the Idrisite religious order; this sheikh received his education from his father, Sheikh Mohammad al-Fadl, the founder of the Sufi movement known as the Fadeli movement. He also studied with other scientists. As a result, the Sheikh became an expert in Muslim law and an outstanding religious reformer. Ma al-Aynein turned his religious center (Zawiya) into a stronghold for uniting and rallying the people, from which activists of resistance to foreign colonizers came out. Gradually, he became the leader of the movement against Spanish colonialism. His struggle was not limited to resisting the Spanish presence. He also fought hard against the French forces, during which the sheikh and his supporters organized an offensive on the city of Marrakech [Ma al-Ainein, 1995, p. 42; Al-Shami, 1980, p. 137].

Faced with resistance, the French authorities began to put pressure on the Sultan of Morocco (whose country was under a French protectorate) to force him not to support the movement of Sheikh Ma al-Aynein. Soon, the Moroccan sultan suspended the insignificant assistance that he provided to Sheikh Ma al-Aynein [Yahya, 1981, p. 147; Suduk, 1983, p. 45]. After the death of Sheikh Ma al-Aynein in October 1910, his son al-Gyba continued his work until his death on May 23, 1919. Emir al-Gyba managed to establish his authority over the entire Western Sahara, and after his death, the movement was led by his brother Mohammad al-Akhdab. But after the latter's death in 1935, the movement gradually weakened and soon came to naught [Ash-Shami, 1980, p. 137; Gaudio, 1969, p. 70].

In 1935-1957, the resistance was barely noticeable. The reason for this was primarily that the Spanish colonialists suppressed this movement. In addition, they managed to conclude agreements with some influential representatives of the Western Sahara aristocracy [Amer, 1983, p.162; Suduk, 1983, p. 45]. Another factor that contributed to the weakening of the national liberation movement,

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It consisted in the established close cooperation and coordination of the efforts of France and Spain in the north-west of the African continent. Under such conditions, any resistance movement was bound to fail, as Western Sahara was surrounded on all sides by countries that were under the control of the colonialists. The only form of resistance was sharp criticism of colonialism and its condemnation, coming from religious figures, scholars of theology and supporters of Sufism.

The third stage of the struggle of the people of Western Sahara lasted between 1957 and 1975. At this time, political activism and anti-colonial resistance were revived again. Already in 1957, there were a number of military operations against Spanish strongholds located in such areas as Red Creek, Dra'a Valley, and Zemmur. Most of these operations were carried out by representatives of the Ruqaibat tribe under the leadership of their leaders (Badia, 1976, p.103). In response, Spain, with the assistance of France, also conducted a number of operations. The first of them ("Ekuvion") was held on February 10, 1958. It was started by 5 thousand people. French soldiers were supported by 70 aircraft from the Tindouf area of Algeria (near the Western Sahara border), as well as from Mauritania, located south of Western Sahara. The Spaniards also surrounded and blocked the resistance forces from the West Coast. The most famous operation was "Hurricane". It was attended by 9 thousand Spanish soldiers. As a result of the fighting, the Western Sahrawi patriots suffered heavy losses [Assidon, 1978, p. 12].

After that, the resistance forces, who realized that it was impossible to defeat a stronger enemy by military means alone, began to pay more attention to political aspects, propaganda, agitation and educational work. As a result, several political groups emerged to lead the resistance. The Vanguard for the Liberation of Western Sahara (MOLIZARIO) emerged. This organization was created by the Western Sahrawi Baathist (and Nasser's supporter) Mohammad Seyed Ibrahim al-Buseiri. In 1967, he began publishing the magazine Al-Shihab, in which he called for the complete liberation of Western Sahara from Spanish occupation and the creation of an independent state [Ash-Shami, 1980, p.138; Suduk, 1983, p. 47-48]. Under the influence of propaganda, the population of Western Sahara began to organize demonstrations in cities, putting forward slogans: "No to accession!", " We demand the departure of Spain!", " No to Spanish schools! Spain's reaction was sharp and harsh: during the punitive operations, many people were killed and wounded. Many national figures ended up in prison. Among them was al-Buseiri, who was wounded, then arrested and went missing. After the appearance of MOLIZARIO, Spain and Morocco began to create political movements and parties that operated under their auspices and called themselves "Sahrawi". Their goal was to annex Western Sahara to Spain or Morocco, respectively (Barbier, 1982, p. 68).

Throughout the Spanish occupation of Western Sahara, which began at the beginning of the century and ended in 1976, various forms of political activity, including insurgency, continued throughout the region. In Western Sahara, the population is relatively small in relation to the vast territory, and the majority of it consists of Bedouin nomads, who find it difficult to unite in a single movement. The national movement involved indigenous tribes and small communities of Western Sahara numbering about 1,700, led by the Ruqaibat tribe, one of the most numerous and powerful in the region. The most significant was the uprising of 1934, in which all the tribes participated, as well as the revolutionary movement of 1957.The 70s of the XX century witnessed a new significant rise in the national liberation movement in Western Sahara. Two important events took place here at this time.

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After the 1970 uprising in the city of Al-Ayoun, led by the former journalist Al-Basir Walad Sidi Ibrahim, a new type of nationwide movement began to take shape, moving from isolated, sporadic demonstrations to more organized struggle. In 1970, the creation of a new organization in Western Sahara was announced, which opposed the authority of the Spanish governor. This organization was called MARIKHOB ("Blue People") [Suduk, 1983, p.48].

MARIHOB was the first left-wing political organization in Western Sahara. It was created with the direct support of Algeria and received political support from the Communist Party of Spain. It also established cooperation with the Canary Islands Independence Movement, which, like the headquarters of MARICHOB, was based in Algeria. The MARICHOB program was based on the following provisions: complete independence and non-cooperation with Spain; non-rapprochement and cooperation with Morocco and Mauritania; creation and construction of an independent State in Western Sahara, where a democratic and progressive popular government would be formed.

In addition to marijuana, there were other political organizations in Western Sahara:

- The Council of Forty, established in 1960, consisted of tribal sheikhs. He advocated armed struggle against the Spaniards, appointed judges from among scholars of theology and experts in Muslim law;

- The vanguard Organization for the Liberation of Western Sahara, which emerged in 1966, demanded the creation of a local administration in Western Sahara and the timing of the withdrawal of Spanish troops, and sought equal rights for Spaniards and the indigenous population of the Sahara. The organization insisted on the dissolution of the puppet Assembly of Western Sahara created by the Spanish authorities, holding free elections, and stopping the immigration of Spaniards.;

- The Islamic Party, which emerged in 1965, advocated the conduct of armed struggle and joining the Kingdom of Morocco while maintaining the political full rights of the local population;

- Resistance movement for the liberation of areas under Spanish rule. This organization appeared in Morocco in 1961 and aimed to unite Western Sahara with Morocco. Its headquarters then moved to Algeria, then to Belgium, and finally in 1975 to Morocco. There were several clashes between activists of this movement and the Spanish armed forces. Subsequently, a group of Saharans of Moroccan origin separated from this movement;

- The Sahrawi group. Since 1958, the Spanish authorities have been trying to establish contacts with Western Saharans. After publishing a document in 1961 that considered Red Creek and the Golden Valley as Spanish territories, they created a Sahrawi group that included the leaders of the indigenous Western Sahrawi tribes that inhabited Red Creek, the Golden Valley, the cities of Al-Ayun and Ad-Dahlia, as well as the leaders of the Al-Batun tribe and others. The total number of members of this group was 102. Its task was to represent the local population in relations with the Spanish administration, as well as to control intertribal relations. One of the main reasons for its creation was the need to provide legal cover for the preservation of the Spanish presence and influence in Western Sahara;

- The National Union of the Sahara was formed in October 1974 under the auspices of the Spanish Government. With the help of this batch, the Spanish administration hoped to preserve its economic interests after the withdrawal of troops. Members of the Sahrawi Group joined this party, and after the party's dissolution, the majority of its leadership joined the Frente POLISARIO (Barbier, 1982, p. 68).

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The struggle between the interested neighbors-Algeria, Morocco and Mauritania, on the one hand, and the development of the national liberation movement in Western Sahara, on the other, contributed to the emergence of a new factor that changed the balance of power in Western Sahara by May 1973. All these movements and parties gradually ceased to exist and disappeared after the appearance of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Red Creek and Golden Valley - POLISARIO in February 1973.

From the very beginning, this movement has chosen armed struggle as the main method of its activity. The Front formed a General Secretariat, whose task was to coordinate the activities of local committees created for the preparation of the constituent congress [Suduk, 1983, p. 50]. On May 10, 1973 The first constituent congress of the Front on the border between Mauritania and Western Sahara was held under the slogan " With the rifle we will win freedom!". At the congress, the creation of the Frente POLISARIO was officially announced, which included in its ranks all the fighters of Western Sahara and all political organizations operating on its territory. As the main task, he put forward the complete liberation of Western Sahara and distancing itself from Spain, Morocco and Mauritania. The political goals of the armed struggle were defined as follows [Suduk, 1983, p. 50]:" ...to carry out the Arabization of Western Sahara, returning it to the bosom of the Arab world, rebuffing Spanish colonialism, which seeks to annex the territory of Western Sahara, joining it to Spain; to overcome the disregard and indifference to the liberation of Western Sahara of the neighboring countries of North Africa and other Arab countries."

May 20, 1973 was the beginning of the armed struggle of the Frente POLISARIO, which created the People's Army for the Liberation of Western Sahara. The Front has focused its attention on coordinating the activities of various organizations. Despite all the efforts made by the Front, its military capabilities were initially small. Thus, the number of members of the People's Liberation Army at the initial stage was only 45 people. In addition, there were not enough weapons. The Mauritanian Government, which had helped establish the Front, stopped providing assistance. As for the Moroccan Government, it went even further and began to put pressure on those Saharans who had fled to Morocco. The goal of the Moroccan authorities was to create a political mechanism with the help of refugees from Western Sahara, which would serve the interests of Morocco. The POLISARIO has repeatedly stated that cases of intervention of the Moroccan army in the affairs of the Sahrawi people on the side of the Spaniards have become more frequent. Immediately after the Front declared its goals and its political program, the Spanish colonialists began to fight the Front and persecute its members in Morocco and Mauritania. In response, the Front expanded its operations along the entire perimeter of the Sahrawi territories, enlisting the help and political support of the Algerian Government. This assistance enabled the Front to conduct continuous military operations and strengthen resistance. As resistance increased, the Spanish Government was forced to announce its intention to hold a referendum in Western Sahara during 1975 under the auspices of the United Nations (Gaudio, 1975, p.267). In fact, the Spanish Administration has begun conducting a census.

Although the Frente POLISARIO believed that there was no need for a referendum, it agreed with the idea. However, on November 14, 1975, a trilateral agreement was signed in Madrid between Spain, Morocco and Mauritania. The Frente POLISARIO has announced that it opposes the agreement. The Western Sahrawi response to this agreement was given at a conference in Calta on 28 November 1975, attended by 68 members of the independent Sahrawi General Association and three Sahrawi representatives in the Cortes of Spain. As a result, the following document was published [Suduk, 1983, p. 147]:

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1. The only way to find out the opinion of the Sahrawi people is to allow them to decide their own destiny and gain independence without any foreign interference in the process. Since the Association was not democratically elected by the Sahrawi people, it has no right to decide their fate.

2. The Sahrawi General Association unanimously decides to dissolve itself so that Spain cannot use this structure for the realization of its interests and goals.

3. The only legitimate authority of the Sahrawi people is the Popular Front for the Liberation of Red Creek and Golden Valley, which is recognized by the United Nations.

4.On the basis of national unity and without any foreign interference, the Provisional Sahrawi National Council (SCNC) is established.

5. We, the signatories of the Kalta Document, reaffirm our unconditional support for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Red Creek and Golden Valley, which is the only legitimate representative of the Sahrawi people.

6. We reiterate that we continue to insist on continuing the struggle for the liberation of our homeland, based on the principle of its full independence and the preservation of its territorial integrity.

Thus, the Frente POLISARIO emerged based on a certain political platform, which was shared by various circles of Western Saharans. He took his ideas from it and learned from the experience and lessons of the limited success of this platform and its significant mistakes. In the early years of its formation, the Front sought to focus its attention on developing a "political program with clear outlines", as well as on defining its strategic goals and methods of implementing these goals, which could be political, military, or both at the same time, as is typical of other national liberation movements.

As we can see, the Frente POLISARIO emerged under special circumstances, both local, regional and international. These conditions greatly contributed to giving this movement a powerful incentive. They also helped raise the profile of Saharans and promoted them to the ranks of freedom fighters, linking their movement to the global national liberation and anti-colonial movement. The difficulties of the formation of the POLISARIO Front were largely determined by the need to rally around a single goal - independence - the widest strata of the Western Saharan people: nomads, miners, merchants, etc. In addition, it was necessary to take into account the interests of all tribes, and not just the Rukaibat tribe, which led the struggle of about 1,700 small tribes and communities.

The POLISARIO Front emerged at a time when Algeria was at the peak of its political activity, not only on the African continent, but also in the "third world", in the Non-Aligned Movement and in the world in general. It was at this time that Algeria came up with important political initiatives, which were announced at the special session of the UN General Assembly in April 1974 by the leader of Algeria, President Houari Boumedien [Discours..., 1975, p. 193-210]. The leadership of the Frente POLISARIO found a warm welcome in Algeria, which gave it temporary shelter in the Tindouf desert (Suduk, 1983, p. 98). Algeria provided significant political, financial and military assistance to the Frente POLISARIO based on two considerations: its orientation towards assisting national liberation movements and granting the peoples of the colonies the right to self-determination; and its desire to prevent the annexation of Western Sahara to Morocco, which would thus gain new strategic territories and natural resources.

One of those who supported the POLISARIO Front since its creation was also the leader of the Libyan revolution, Muammar Gaddafi, who considered it his duty to

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support, especially after the death of President Nasser in 1970, all revolutionary anti-colonial movements in the Arab world. It was from Libya that the Front received its first weapons and material aid [Sergeev, 2001, p. 264].

The Frente POLISARIO conducted numerous operations against Spanish forces for three years, until Spain finally left Western Sahara. A factor contributing to the success of the Front was the work of the UN, which exerted strong pressure on Spain as part of the course to eliminate colonialism on the African continent. Thanks to the united efforts of the United Nations and the success achieved by the POLISARIO, the Spanish occupation forces finally withdrew from Western Sahara on February 26, 1976. However, unfortunately, the independence of Western Sahara was not declared after that. Tests have already begun at a new stage, after Spain gave Morocco and Mauritania the opportunity to decide the fate of Western Sahara. Both of these States claimed that the Western Sahara region was an integral part of their territory. This is especially true of Morocco, which organized the "Green March" in November 1975, a mass campaign of 350,000 unarmed Moroccans to Western Sahara (Sergeev, 2001, p.262). This is largely why the struggle between the people of Western Sahara and the Moroccan authorities continues to this day. As for Mauritania, it was in the late 70s of the XX century. recognized that this region is an independent territory.

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Amer Salah ed-Din. Popular armed resistance in the light of international law. Cairo, 1983 (in Arabic).

Badia Leila Khalil. Echo of the struggle from the "Golden Valley" and "Red Stream". Beirut, 1976 (in Arabic).

Belhamisi Mauliai. Spanish occupation of the "Red Stream" and "Golden Valley" / / Al-Asal. April 1976 (in Arabic).

Bouaziz Yahya. The true requirements of the historical Maghreb in relation to the "Red Stream" and the "Golden Valley". December 1975 (in Arabic).

Ghali Boutros et al. The Sahara War in the Arab Maghreb. Documentary dossier of the journal "International Politics". April 1976 (in Arabic).

[Ma al-Aynein]. Let us be like Ma al-Ainein. Ma al-Aynein and his scientific and national struggles. Publication of the Moroccan Society of Islamic Solidarity. 1995 (in Arabic).

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Suduk Omar. The problem of Western Sahara in the light of international law and international relations. Algeria, 1983 (in Arabic).

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Al-Yaqubi Ahmed. History of Al-Yaqubi, Vol. 1. Beirut, 1995 (in Arabic).

Yahya Jalal et al. The Moroccan-Algerian border issue and the Sahrawi problem. Cairo, 1981 (in Arabic).

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Chassey F. de. Donnees historique et sociologiques sur la formation de peuple SAHRAOUI. P., 1979.

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