We take you on a tour of the leading international newspapers and media outlets today, Wednesday, August 26, 2026, examining the latest developments in the Western Sahara issue, which continues to feature prominently in the international media.
International media coverage today focused on four main themes: the continuation of the conflict in Western Sahara and the reality of the military wall that divides Western Sahara, its territory and its people; Morocco’s attempts to entrench the colonial status quo in the occupied territory; Spain’s position on the issue; and the continuing international debate over the position of the international community and the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination and independence.
1. Science & Vie: A Sand Wall Dividing Western Sahara
The French magazine Science & Vie published a report today on Morocco’s occupation wall in Western Sahara, describing it as one of the largest defensive structures of its kind in the world.
The report states that the wall was built between 1980 and 1987 and stretches for approximately 2,700 kilometers, dividing Western Sahara into two parts. Large minefields are also scattered along its length. The report links the wall to the ceasefire line monitored by the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO).
This coverage is particularly significant because it presents the conflict to European readers from the perspective of the military and territorial reality of the occupation, rather than portraying it merely as a political dispute between Morocco and the Polisario Front, which is fighting for the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination and independence.
2. The Week: Morocco Attempts to Rebrand Western Sahara
One of the most notable pieces of media coverage is a report by The Week magazine on Morocco’s attempt to “rebrand” occupied Western Sahara.
The report focuses on Moroccan investments in the occupied territories of Western Sahara, including infrastructure, desalination, road projects, green hydrogen initiatives, and the Dakhla Atlantic Port. It argues that these investments form part of a strategy aimed at entrenching a colonial reality.
The magazine notes that the United Nations continues to classify Western Sahara as a Non-Self-Governing Territory awaiting decolonization.
The report thus highlights how economic investment in the occupied territory has become part of a political struggle over the future of Western Sahara, rather than simply a development issue.
3. Spain: Western Sahara Returns to the Spotlight Through Cinema
In the Spanish media, Western Sahara featured prominently today through the lens of culture and cinema.
The Europa Press news agency covered the new Spanish film El ser querido, directed by Rodrigo Sorogoyen, which addresses “Spain’s abandonment of Western Sahara” in 1975.
The agency also quoted actress Vicky Luengo expressing her hope that the film would contribute to reviving the debate over the consequences and damage resulting from that abandonment.
This is significant from a media perspective because the issue is presented not merely as a territorial dispute, but as an unresolved legacy of Spanish colonialism.
4. Western Sahara in the Context of the Moroccan-Spanish Crisis
Spanish media coverage also continues to link developments in Moroccan-Spanish relations with the Western Sahara issue and the questions surrounding Ceuta and Melilla.
Today, El Español published an interview with Sahrawi journalist and writer Taleb Ali Salem, addressing the Ceuta crisis and Moroccan ambitions regarding the two cities, within the broader context of Spanish-Moroccan relations.
This comes after extensive coverage in the European press of the Ceuta crisis. Le Parisien, for example, previously described the flow of migrants as potentially constituting a form of “hybrid warfare,” while experts raised the possibility that Moroccan authorities may have turned a blind eye to migrant flows as a means of exerting pressure on Spain.
This once again places Western Sahara within a broader framework involving Rabat’s use of border, migration and bilateral-relations issues as instruments of pressure on Madrid in an effort to secure a position supportive of the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara.
5. Natural Resources: Economics at the Heart of the Conflict
International coverage of economic activities in Western Sahara is also increasing.
The organization Western Sahara Resource Watch noted this month the expansion of the Aftissat wind-energy complex in occupied Western Sahara and linked the project to Nareva, a company owned by a holding group associated with the Moroccan royal family.
The organization has also examined the role of foreign companies in projects involving infrastructure and natural resources in the territory, once again raising the legal and political question of the exploitation of Western Sahara’s natural resources without the consent of the Sahrawi people.
6. The European Union: A Contradiction Between Law and Practice
The European Union remains one of the key focuses of international coverage of the Western Sahara issue.
Recent reports have indicated that the European Parliament approved an update to the aviation agreement with Morocco while excluding Western Sahara from the scope of the agreement. At the same time, criticism continues over European policy because of the persistence of certain economic activities linked to the occupied territory.
This comes in the context of rulings by the Court of Justice of the European Union, which affirmed that trade agreements between the EU and Morocco cannot include Western Sahara without respecting the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination. Reuters reported that the court found the European Commission had violated the right of the people of Western Sahara to self-determination when it concluded those agreements with Morocco.
Media Round-Up
Five key messages can be drawn from today’s media review:
First — Western Sahara has not disappeared from the international media landscape.
It continues to feature across international media coverage in political, military, economic, cultural and legal contexts.
Second — The military wall has returned to the spotlight.
Today’s Science & Vie report provides European readers with a direct picture of the continued Moroccan occupation and its division of the territory through the military wall and extensive minefields.
Third — Morocco is waging a battle to entrench the colonial status quo through economic means.
Investments in Dakhla and Laayoune, as well as energy, port and infrastructure projects, are presented as part of a broader strategy aimed at reshaping the image of the territory and economically integrating it into Morocco.
Fourth — The Spanish colonial dimension remains present.
This is clearly reflected in the new Spanish film, which revisits the issue of Spain’s abandonment of Western Sahara in 1975.
Fifth — There is a clear gap between the political support extended to Morocco by some powers and the prevailing international legal framework.
While the United States, France and Spain, to varying degrees, support the Moroccan proposal, Western Sahara remains, within the United Nations framework, a Non-Self-Governing Territory subject to decolonization, while the issue of self-determination remains a fundamental component of the UN framework.
Comments
Post a Comment