Minurso

Refugees, above, from the territory of Western Sahara have been living in Tindouf, Algeria, for decades. Western Sahara is the last colonial outpost in Africa, now occupied by Morocco. Former US National Security Adviser John Bolton tried to resolve the situation, but his departure from the White House leaves the territory’s future seriously adrift, the author says.

A Sahrawi refugee at a camp near Tindouf, Algeria, 2016. A new UN envoy is taking a stab at ending the frozen conflict over the status of the Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara territory of the indigenous Sahrawi people, prodded by the United States. EVAN SCHNEIDER/UN PHOTO