Flight routes at centre of conflict

Direct flights from two European capitals to a city in a bitterly disputed north African territory have become the latest battleground in the conflict between a rebel group and Morocco.

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Madrid -

Low-cost airlines have opened routes linking Madrid and Paris to Dakhla in Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony controlled by Morocco, but claimed for decades by the Algeria-backed Polisario Front.

Questions over the legality of the flights have thrown their future in doubt.

The Polisario Front, which controls about 20% of the territory, has threatened legal action if the European carriers maintain the routes.