Hundreds protest Moroccan actions in Western Sahara outside consulate in Barcelona

Hundreds of Sahrawi protesters have gathered outside the Moroccan consulate in Barcelona to voice their anger at the recent actions of the Moroccan army in Western Sahara.

Crowds gathered with flags and banners on Wednesday evening accusing Moroccan authorities of being "murderers" and accusing Spain of being complicit.

On the other side of the street, dozens of Moroccans took part in a counterprotest, the two opposing groups separated by two lines of Catalan police, the Mossos d'Esquadra.

Western Sahara was a Spanish colony until the mid 1970s, and its current status is disputed, with most of the territory administered by Morocco and the remainder by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.

No UN country has recognized Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara and the Sahrawi people have called for a referendum on self-determination.

On November 13, the Moroccan army fired shots in Guerguerat, a village near the border with Mauritania, where Sahrawis had cut off a pass that they say was being illegally used by Morocco.

The Polisario Front, a Sahrawi national liberation movement, responded by declaring a state of war against Morocco.

There has been a ceasefire since 1991.