Long-standing refugee crisis in Algeria

 There is a long-standing refugee crisis in Algeria that has been going on since 1975 and is usually not in the spotlight.

    About 1,73,000 Sahrawi refugees live in 5 refugee camps in western Algeria in May 2025.Since 1975,the Sahrawi people,fleeing from war,started crossing into Algeria from the western Sahara territory.

     Western Sahara has largely been under Moroccan occupation and control since 1975.Morocco considers Western Sahara a part of its own country.

    Residents of western Sahara are primarily known as Sahrawi or Saharawi.They are an ethnic group with Arab and Berber ancestry,native to the western Sahara region.The region Sahrawi literally means " inhabitant of the desert" in Arabic.

       The Polisario Front runs a civil campaign to promote separation for Western Sahara.