Western Sahara, known as "Africa's last colony," has been controlled by Morocco since 1975, when the government claimed sovereignty over the territory, despite a ruling by the International Court of Justice. The Moroccan government's actions ignited a decades-long conflict with the Polisario Front, a national movement committed to self-determination for the Sahrawi people of Western Sahara. Because of the conflict, the Sahrawi population was divided into those who stayed under Moroccan control and those who fled Western Sahara for safety and now live in refugee camps near Tindouf, Algeria.