Approval of a referendum on a new constitution, which stipulated that two-thirds of Parliament was to be popularly elected. After a second attempt to assassinate the king (Aug. 16), the government decided to suspend the constitution.
Defeat of a third attempt to overthrow the government. Radical activists infiltrated the country in armed bands and staged attacks on strategic targets. The plot failed to shake the regime.
Morocco and Mauritania presented their claims to the Spanish Sahara before the World Court (See 1975), which ruled (Oct. 16) in favor of self-determination for the inhabitants. Fighting was reported (Nov. 7) between the Moroccan army and the Polisario, the nationalist organization representing the inhabitants of the Spanish Sahara. Morocco and Mauritania officially divided the territory and annexed their respective shares on April 14, 1976. Morocco prized the territory, which was little more than barren wasteland, for its large phosphate deposits.
With encouragement from King Hassan, thousands of marchers crossed the border into Spanish Sahara to demonstrate support for Morocco's claims to the territory.
