Mali said on Friday it no longer recognised Western Sahara's self-declared independence and backed a Moroccan plan to make the disputed territory of Western Sahara an autonomous region of Morocco.

Western Sahara - a former Spanish colony largely controlled by Morocco - is the only territory on the African continent whose post-colonial status has not been settled.

It is claimed by the Polisario Front, which insists on the indigenous Sahrawi people's right to a referendum on self-determination monitored by the United Nations.

"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," Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop told a press conference on Friday.

Bamako has "withdrawn its recognition of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic" declared by the Polisario Front in 1976, Diop said.

Morocco hails ‘historic move’

He was speaking alongside his Moroccan counterpart, Nasser Bourita, who hailed the move as "historic".

Mali's decision coincides with a sharp deterioration in diplomatic relations between Mali and Algeria, which borders both Morocco and Western Sahara, and supports the Polisario Front.

Morocco and Algeria have been at loggerheads for decades over Western Sahara, a vast desert territory rich in phosphates whose waters teem with fish.

Rabat has proposed that the huge portion of Western Sahara under its control should become an autonomous region of Morocco.

UN-supervised referendum

Polisario is seeking independence and says Morocco should adhere to an agreement it accepted in 1991 that provides 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 a broad agreement.

But in October 2025, the Security Council passed a resolution submitted by the United States supporting the Moroccan plan.