Dakar rally to cross occupied Western Sahara
The 2027 race will traverse Smara and Dajla, cities claimed by Morocco.
The 2027 Dakar Rally will include stages in occupied Western Sahara, organizers announced on October 30. The race is scheduled from January 9 to 23, starting in Portugal and ending in Marrakech, Morocco. The route will pass through Smara and extend to the vicinity of Dajla, both cities under Moroccan control. This marks a return to desert racing after the event's absence from Saudi Arabia due to Houthi attacks.
The French organizer, ASO, presents Smara and Dajla as "the southern tip" of Morocco, despite international rulings and the UN considering Western Sahara a non-autonomous territory awaiting decolonization. The Polisario Front has considered the ceasefire broken since November 2020, and Smara experienced projectile impacts in October 2023. The rally's inclusion of these areas follows Morocco's strategy of hosting international events to assert its claim over the territory.
This decision comes as the UN Security Council debated the territory on the same day ASO made the announcement. The rally will spend five days racing on Sahrawi soil, from January 18 to 22. Spain will briefly serve as a logistical corridor for the rally caravan on January 10 before it departs for Nador. Sahrawi people have not consented to these events taking place in their territory.
Why it mattersThe Dakar Rally's route through occupied Western Sahara normalizes Morocco's control over the territory, affecting the Sahrawi people who have not consented to these events.