What’s the future of the Western Sahara conflict?

It’s one of Africa’s longest-running conflicts.

The dispute over the territory of Western Sahara started more than 50 years ago. It began with the end of Spanish colonial rule in the region.

Since then, both Morocco and the Polisario Front have claimed the Western Sahara.

In the 1990s, the United Nations tried to reach a settlement, and deployed a peacekeeping mission to the region.

Last week, that effort ended when Russia and the United States blocked proposals to extend the mission’s mandate.

So, could this development lead to renewed fighting?

Samir Bennis – Political analyst and author of the book The Self-Determination Delusion: How Activist Scholars and Journalists Have Hijacked the Western Sahara Case

Irene Fernandez-Molina – Senior lecturer in International Relations at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom and author of the book Moroccan Foreign Policy under Mohammed VI, 1999-2014

Mahjoub Mleiha – Advocacy head of Collective of Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders (CODESA)