Western Sahara

The voice of Western Sahara

Aziza Brahim's childhood as a Sahrawi refugee in Algeria naturally shaped her music, but as her latest album, "Mawja" shows, while she has not forgotten where she comes from, she has long since tuned her ears to a world beyond the camp perimeters

EU gatekeeper Morocco leverages its own interests

Morocco is intensifying its gatekeeper role in EU migration, stopping 87,000 migrants in 2023. Key to the deal is European acceptance of Morocco's claim to disputed Western Sahara

Algiers is banking on Europe's gas rush

Following the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's visit to Algeria, both countries are seeking to expand their energy cooperation. This will, however, only further cement Algiers' dependence on the gas rush. By Sofian Philip Naceur

No more lethargy – Algiers’ passive foreign policy is over

For the first time since 1989, Algeria‘s authoritarian regime has sent a military parade marching through Algiers. A formidable show of strength designed to impress rival regional powers, the event also sought to highlight the country’s own stance on Israel and Palestine. By Sofian Philip Naceur

Is a gas crisis with Algeria on the horizon for Spain?

Madrid's about-face on the Western Sahara conflict has enraged Algeria. Trade relations have been frozen unilaterally and a cut in gas supplies to Europe could be in the pipeline. By Ralph Schulze

"One day we will be free"

Sultana Khaya, 41, has been peacefully resisting the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara for many years. Because of her campaign to assert the self-determination of the Sahrawi people, she was assaulted and raped. She has been under house arrest for over a year. Interview by Elisa Rheinheimer

Moroccan kids get a taste of surfing freedom

Morocco's fast-track development programme bypasses many

Morocco is receiving much international recognition for its policy of modernisation, but the weaknesses of the model are obvious. By Claudia Mende

New African consulates cause trouble for Western Sahara

Several African countries have opened diplomatic missions to Morocco in Western Sahara, a disputed area occupied by Rabat. This has been exacerbating the conflict in an already volatile region seeking independence. By Martina Schwikowski und Hugo Flotat-Talon

The Sahrawis are fed up with waiting

The dispute over Western Sahara has been smouldering for over 40 years. In the refugee camps in Algeria, resignation is spreading among many people who have been hoping for a solution by the United Nations for decades. By Hugo Flotat-Talon

Lapping at your consciousness

With "Amankor/The Exile", the Kel Tamashek band Tartit have produced another cultural treasure for the rest of the world to appreciate. Their original intent may have been to keep their own culture alive, but in the process they have succeeded in bringing the sound of the desert into all our lives. By Richard Marcus

A new way to reach a wider readership

The "A Bird is not a Stone" crowdfunding campaign may not have gotten as much press as British scientists seeking to fund a moon landing through online donations, but it certainly made a ripple among Arabic literary translators. The success of this campaign showed that crowdfunding can be an important tool in bringing Arabic literature into European languages. By Marcia Lynx Qualey