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Native name | وكالة الأنباء الصحراوية |
|---|---|
Romanized name | Wikālat al-’Anbā’ aṣ-Ṣaḥrāwīyah |
| Company type | Not-for-profit news agency |
| Industry | News media |
| Founded | 29 March 1999; 26 years ago (1999-03-29) |
| Headquarters | Shaheed El Hafed, Tindouf ,Algeria |
Key people | Editor-in-ChiefSaleh Nafee |
| Sahara Press Service | |
| Available in | |
| Commercial | No |
| Current status | Available |
| Website | www |
Sahara Press Service (SPS;Arabic:وكالة الأنباء الصحراوية,romanized: Wikālat al-’Anbā’ aṣ-Ṣaḥrāwīyah,lit. 'Sahrawi News Agency') is the multi-lingual official press agency of theSahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. The agency mainly report government-related news and current Sahrawi affairs, both from theliberated andoccupied territories ofWestern Sahara, and theSahrawi refugee camps inTindouf,Algeria.
Sahara Press Service was established on 29 March 1999 with a support fromAlgeria Press Service in collaboration with the Swiss Association for a Free and Fair Referendum in Western Sahara, known as ARSO, in the midst of interactions resulting from the cease-fire of theWestern Sahara War on September 6, 1991.[1] The SPS dispatches began to be posted on the internet since April 1999, due to the combined efforts of the Friends of Sahrawi People inSwitzerland andSpain.[2] Among the founders was the journalist and then SADR Minister of Information,Mohamed Fadel Ismail Ould Es-Sweyih. Its current director and editor-in-chief is Saleh Nafee.[3] The Sahara Press Service also releases the El Karama monthly magazine, which reports on human rights violations in the region.[4][5]
Reports were published only inFrench until 2001, when the SPS website was opened. In March 2001, news started to be published inSpanish. On April 20, 2003, the news were also published inEnglish on the website. In 2005, SPS addedArabic to the language options of their site.[6] In September 2010, SPS started releasing a weekly news resume bulletin inPDF format. On 1 July 2012 news started to be published inRussian as well.[7]
On 25 January 2012, Sahrawi presidentMohamed Abdelaziz inaugurated the new headquarters of the press agency on the Sahrawi refugee camps.[8] SPS launched a new website and logo on 11 October 2023.[9]