Venezuela
federal republic
Vietnam
Communist state
Virgin Islands
NA
Wallis and Futuna
NA
Western Sahara
legal status of territory and issue of sovereignty
unresolved; territory contested by Morocco and Polisario Front
(Popular Front for the Liberation of the Saguia el Hamra and Rio de
Oro), which in February 1976 formally proclaimed a
government-in-exile of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR),
led by President Mohamed ABDELAZIZ; territory partitioned between
Morocco and Mauritania in April 1976, with Morocco acquiring
northern two-thirds; Mauritania, under pressure from Polisario
guerrillas, abandoned all claims to its portion in August 1979;
Morocco moved to occupy that sector shortly thereafter and has since
asserted administrative control; the Polisario's government-in-exile
was seated as an Organization of African Unity (OAU) member in 1984;
guerrilla activities continued sporadically until a UN-monitored
cease-fire was implemented on 6 September 1991 (Security Council
Resolution 690) by the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in
Western Sahara or MINURSO
Yemen
republic
Zambia
republic
Zimbabwe
parliamentary democracy
This page was last updated on 18 December 2008
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