Tiris al-Gharbiya
| Western Tiris تيرس الغربية Tīris al-Ġarbiyya |
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| Province of Mauritania | ||||||
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| Capital |
Dakhla 23°43′N 15°57′W / 23.717°N 15.950°WCoordinates: 23°43′N 15°57′W / 23.717°N 15.950°W |
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| Government | Province | |||||
| History | ||||||
| • | Madrid Accords | November 14, 1975 | ||||
| • | Mauritanian invasion of Spanish Sahara | November 27, 1975 | ||||
| • | Partition of Spanish Sahara | April 14, 1976 | ||||
| • | Mauritania evacuates Western Tiris | August 5, 1979 | ||||
| • | Annexation of Western Tiris by Morocco | August 11, 1979 | ||||
| Area | ||||||
| • | 1977 | 88,000 km2(33,977 sq mi) | ||||
| Population | ||||||
| • | 1977 | 12,897 | ||||
| Density | 0.1 /km2 (0.4 /sq mi) | |||||
Tiris al-Gharbiyya (Arabic: تيرس الغربية Tīris al-Ġarbiyya, "Western Tiris") was the name for the area of Western Sahara under Mauritanian control between 1975 and 1979.
Mauritania annexed the southern third of the former Spanish colony of Spanish Sahara in 1975 after the Madrid Accords, with Morocco taking the northern two-thirds (Saguia el-Hamra and the northern half of Río de Oro) as its Southern Provinces. Both countries claimed historical rights over the area, while the United Nations demanded that the indigenous population (Sahrawis) had a right to self-determination, and should be allowed to decide through a referendum whether the territory should join either of the neighbouring states, or be established as an independent country.
The latter was the preferred option of the Polisario Front, a Sahrawi organization which turned its guerrilla forces against both countries, having until then fought Spain. Its attacks against Mauritania proved highly effective. Polisario strikes against the iron mines at Zouerate, as well as the costs of the war effort, soon brought the country to the brink of economic collapse, and produced increasing tensions in the army and government apparatus.
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