Western Sahara: Polisario front leader Abdelaziz dies

The leader of the Western Sahara Independence Movement has died after a long illness. 

Mohamed Abdelaziz, 68, was Secretary-General of the Polisario Front, which fights for an end to Moroccan rule in Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony annexed by Morocco in 1975.

The front has declared 40 days of mourning after which it said a new secretary-general will be chosen.The UN has long been trying to broker a settlement for the region's future. 

However, the conflict is currently deadlocked over a dispute about a referendum on self-determination. 

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika declared a week of mourning for the Polisario leader, who died in hospital in Algeria after leading the group based in the southern Algerian city of Tindouf for almost 40 years.


SOURCE: BBC news