1. The desire for complete independence was the primary cause of the outbreak of the war in 1976. Since 1884, Spanish Sahara had undergone colonial rule, starting with the Spanish and later Morocco and Mauritania, Much as independence was granted to her in 1956, Spain made a u-turn by reoccupying the territory in 1958. From 1976, Western Sahara came under Moroccan and Mauritanian control. So the war broke out in 1976 because of the need to end colonial rule and achieve complete independence. The unilateral occupation and partitioning of Spanish Sahara by Morocco and Mauritania in 1976.

2. The exploitation of resources by Moroccans from Western Sahara especially the exploitation of phosphates deposits in the north which only benefited the Moroccans at the expense of the Sahrawis.

3. The emergence of nationalism within Western Sahara gave way to the war of liberation. The people rose up to defend and protect their land from foreign interference. They founded POLISARIO in 1973 to champion the cause of independence through all possible means. In 1976, POLISARIO declared the Saharan Aran Democratic Republic (SADR) and went ahead to declare the war of liberation.

4. The failure of the Spanish to resolve the question of Western Sahara led to the war. By the time of the death of General Franco and the withdrawal of the Spanish from the territory, the problem of Western Sahara had not been sorted out. Spain was quiet about the future of the territory and Morocco and Mauritania took advantage of the situation to occupy the territory. POLISARIO took matters into its own hands by taking up arms in 1976 to forge the future of Western Sahara.

5. The massive support to POLISARIO from Algeria, Libya and other socialist countries, influenced the outbreak of the war. POLISARIO declared war partly because of assured military, financial and material support from China, Cuba, the former Soviet Union, etc. Neighbouring Algeria even offered training, hiding and launching bases to POLISARIO.

6. The Successful revolution in neighbouring Algeria influenced POLISARIO to declare war against foreign occupation, anticipating similar success. The liberation war of Algeria declared by Ben Bella in 1954 successfully overthrew the French colonial occupation and achieved independence for Algeria in 1962. The people of Western Sahara hoped that victory was possible for them as well if they declared a war of self-rule.

7. The partition of Western Sahara in 1976 provoked the outbreak of the war. The Spanish partitioned the territory, giving the north to Morocco and the south to Mauritania. This was done to appease King Hassan of Morocco to make him drop his imperial ambitions and his claims over the Spanish controlled ports of Ceuta and MeUila. The partition of Western Sahara was unacceptable to POLISARIO, which took up arms to protect and defend the territorial boundaries of the country.

8. The Cold war politics influenced the outbreak of the war. The Marxist bloc supported POLISARIO with a vision that if it captured power, then Western Sahara would become a Marxist satellite. However, the capitalist bloc responded by supporting Morocco in order to roll back the spread of Marxism, The USA supported Morocco.

9. The Conservatism and imperial ambitions of King Hassan of Morocco contributed to the war. King Hassan worked hard to revive the great Morocco of Medieval times in order to win glory and prestige among his people and the world. Hassan too had imperial ambitions of expanding the borders of Morocco by annexing Western Sahara and other nations. This was also unacceptable to POLISARIO, which wanted modernity and the protection of the boundaries of Western Sahara. This gave way to the war.

10. The war was waged to end Morocco's interests in the mineral wealth of Western Sahara. The discovery of rich phosphate resources at Boukra in 1965 rekindled Moroccan interests in Western Sahara. Morocco tightened its grip over Western Sahara to exploit the mineral wealth without developing the territory. POLISARIO waged war against Morocco to gain control of the mineral wealth and use it to develop the country.

11. Morocco built a 2500km long electronic defence wall around Western Sahara, which provoked the conflict. Well aware of the economic viability of Western Sahara, Morocco built a wall around Western Sahara, defended by mines, completed in 1987. This wall was extended as Libya and Algeria reduced their support for POLISARIO, This wall was greatly opposed by POLISARIO, which fought to end its construction.

12. Spain's refusal to recognise POLISARIO, the SADR and demands for independence left war as the only option. Since its establishment in 1973, POLISARIO was not recognised by Spain as the official representative of the Western Saharan people. The SADR government declared in 1976 too was not recognised by Spain. This forced POLISARIO to resort to war to win recognition and independence from Spain.

13. The war was declared to stop the exploitation of the people of Western Sahara. The people were being exploited through high taxes, forced labour in the mining industry, land alienation, etc. POLISARIO launched the war to end the economic exploitation and impoverishment of the people.

14. The role played by the OAU inspired the war of independence. The OAU recognised POLISARIO as the representative of the interests of the people of Western Sahara. Member nations of the OAU such as Algeria and Libya supported the struggle. With endorsement and support from the OAU, POLISARIO felt justified to declare the war of independence.

15. The colonial legacy was also responsible for the outbreak of the war. Spain governed and controlled each of Morocco, Mauritania and Western Sahara separately. There was no effort to teach the people of Western Sahara to link with either Morocco or Mauritania. To make matters worse, Spain abandoned its colonial claims over Morocco and Mauritania but continued to control Western Sahara. All this caused resentment and anger among the people of Western Sahara and laid the foundation for the war.

16. The failure of UN-sponsored peace plan gave way to further fighting. In 19S8, Morocco and POLISARIO agreed to a UNO peace plan. However, the two sides disagreed over the ceasefire in New York. This led to renewed fighting.

17. The failure of the 1993 Western Sahara referendum led to more fighting. Morocco and POLISARIO disagreed over the terms of the referendum, which was aimed at deciding the future of the territory. The referendum was postponed after the breakdown of the UNO peace initiative. This gave way to fresh fighting. The referendum was again postponed in 1998 and 1999.

18. The influence of other liberation wars across Africa in countries such as Angola, Mozambique, Guinea Bissau, South Africa and Zimbabwe. At this particular moment in time, the wind of change blew across Africa and it was fashionable to oppose foreign rule.

19. The POLISARIO movement wanted to breach the agreement which Spain made with Morocco to occupy the two towns of Geuita and Melissa. The POLISARIO rebels to form SADR captured these towns.

20. The war also aimed at breaking King Hassan of Morocco's imperial ambitions. He dreamed of restoring the former size and glory of Morocco for pride and prestige.

21. It was due to the inspiration by the success of guerilla movements in Algeria against the French in 1962.

22. The oppressive rule and torture of the Moroccans also caused the war.

23. The Sahrawis were not consulted when Western Sahara was handed over to Morocco.

24. Poverty was another cause. People are generally poor and they believe the cause of all their problems is the Moroccans.

25.The Saharawis wanted to control all the trade and other economic activities.

26.People of Western see no reason why they should be ruled by Morocco. They feel they have suffered enough.