Coat of arms of Western Sahara
Symbol of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and Polisario Front.
The coat of arms of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is a symbol created by the Polisario Front, the national liberation movement of Western Sahara. It was adopted as a state symbol alongside the flag when the republic was proclaimed on February 27, 1976. The territory of Western Sahara is disputed, with Morocco controlling about 80% of it, while the Polisario Front and the government-in-exile of the SADR claim independence.
Quick Facts
- Year adopted
- 1976
- Crest
- Star and crescent Gules
- Supporters
- Two olive branches Or
- Other elements
- Two crossed rifles with Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic flags hanging from each
- Motto
- حرية ديمقراطية وحدة; "Liberty
- Democracy
- Unity"
Facts from the source article.
History
Western Sahara became a Spanish colony in the late 1800s. In 1975, following the Green March and the Madrid Accords, Spain withdrew, leaving the territory to be divided between Morocco and Mauritania, with Morocco taking two-thirds. The UN did not recognize this split. The Polisario Front, opposing the move as illegal, proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) in Bir Lehlou.
Mauritania made peace with the Polisario Front in 1979, and Morocco then took over the area Mauritania had controlled. A UN-brokered ceasefire began in 1991, but the territory's sovereignty remains unresolved as peace talks continue. The coat of arms used for the Spanish colony of Spanish Sahara was originally granted to the city of Laâyoune (El Aaiún) by the Spanish government on October 25, 1955. Its design features a green field with a wavy silver and blue diagonal band, a palm tree at the top, and the natural head of an Arabian camel at the bottom.
The border is red, containing four gold castles and three silver lions. The unofficial emblem of MINURSO shows a white camel on a blue crescent-shaped base that spells out 'MINURSO' in blue letters.
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