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Mali announced on Friday that it no longer recognises the self-declared independence of Western Sahara and has expressed support for a Moroccan proposal to make the disputed territory an autonomous region under Moroccan sovereignty.
Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony largely administered by Morocco, is the only territory on the African continent whose post-colonial status has not been settled.
The Polisario Front claims the territory and has called for a UN-monitored referendum on self-determination for the indigenous Sahrawi people.
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop said that “Mali supports the autonomy plan proposed by Morocco as the only serious and credible basis for resolving this dispute and considers that genuine autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty is the most realistic solution.”
Diop also stated that Bamako has “withdrawn its recognition of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic,” the entity declared by the Polisario Front in 1976.
He was speaking alongside his Moroccan counterpart, Nasser Bourita, who termed the move as “historic.”
Mali’s announcement comes amid a reported deterioration in diplomatic relations between Bamako and Algeria, which borders both Morocco and Western Sahara and has maintained ties with the Polisario Front.
Morocco and Algeria have had longstanding disagreements over Western Sahara, a vast desert territory with phosphate deposits and fishing waters, according to publicly available reports.
Morocco has proposed that the portion of Western Sahara under its control become an autonomous region.
The Polisario Front seeks independence and has called for adherence to a 1991 agreement that provided for a UN-supervised referendum on self-determination.
Until last year, the UN Security Council had urged Morocco, the Polisario Front, Algeria and Mauritania to negotiate an agreement.
In October 2025, the Security Council passed a resolution submitted by the United States supporting the Moroccan plan.
