Western Sahara: A Rare Look Inside Africa's Last Colony as U.S. Recognizes Moroccan Occupation

The United States has become the first nation in the world to recognize Morocco's annexation of Western Sahara. The Trump administration announced the major policy shift on December 10 — International Human Rights Day — as part of a deal that saw Morocco become the fourth Arab nation to normalize ties to Israel in recent months.

In this special rebroadcast of a Democracy Now! exclusive documentary, DN broke the media blockade and go to occupied Western Sahara in the northwest of Africa to document the decades-long Sahrawi struggle for freedom and Morocco's violent crackdown.

In late 2016, Democracy Now! managed to get into the Western Saharan city of Laayoune, becoming the first international news team to report from the occupied territory in years. Many of the Sahrawis in this film are currently under police siege or in hiding.

Democracy Now! produces a daily, global, independent news hour hosted by award-winning journalists Amy Goodman and Juan González.

Our reporting includes breaking daily news headlines and in-depth interviews with people on the front lines of the world’s most pressing issues.

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