The United Nations' long-running peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara, MINURSO, has begun winding down after 35 years.
The mission was established following a 1991 ceasefire and was originally tasked with helping organise a referendum over the territory's future.
That referendum never took place because of disagreements over who should be entitled to vote.
The latest Security Council confrontation saw Russia veto a US-backed resolution supporting Morocco's autonomy proposal, while a competing Russian proposal to extend the mission failed.
Why Africa should watch this
Western Sahara remains one of Africa's longest-running territorial disputes.
The end of MINURSO does not mean the dispute has been resolved.
Instead, it removes a UN peacekeeping presence that has existed for more than three decades.
That could create a new and potentially more complicated diplomatic phase between Morocco, Algeria and the Polisario Front.
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