#disputed state

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Flag of Western Sahara

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The flag of Western Sahara was adopted in 1976. Western Sahara (officially the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic) was a former Spanish colony, that is officially claimed as an autonomous region of Morocco. The flag is said to be designed by El-Ouali Mustapha Sayed, first president of Western Sahara. The flag is based on the flag of Palestine, which itself is based on the flag of the Arab Revolt of 1916. The Western Sahara flag adds a star and crescent, symbols of Islam. The flag was adopted by the Sahrawi government shortly after Spain withdrew from the region, leaving the territory to Morocco and Mauritania.

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Flag of Transnistria

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The flag of Transnistria was adopted in 2000. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Moldova became an independent nation, and adopted Moldovan as the states only official language. The Transnistria region, with it's largely Ukrainian and Russian population, saw this as an attack on their status, and seceded from the rest of the nation. Keeping with this, Transnistria refused to adopt the new Moldovan flag and continued to use the old flag of Moldova SSR. In 2000 the flag was officially adopted, with a slightly updated design, changing the shade of green. Because of this, Transnistria is the only government to still use the hammer and sickle on it's flag. However, in spite of the imagery, Transnistria is not a socialist state.

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Flag of Northern Cyprus

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The flag of Northern Cyprus was adopted in 1983. Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) is a disputed state, recognized only by Turkey, which declared independence in 1974. In 1983, the TRNC held a competition to design a flag for the republic. The winning entry was based off the flag of Turkey, with the colors reversed and two horizontal red stripes added. That flag itself, was derived from the flag of the old Ottoman Empire. A massive version of the flag is painted on Mount Pentadaktylos, and can be seen from space.

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Flag of Artsakh

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The flag of Artsakh was adopted in 1992. Artsakh, a de facto independent republic claimed by Azerbaijan is populated mostly by Armenians. As such, when the republic proclaimed independence from Azerbaijan in 1991, a derivative of the Armenian flag was adopted. The flag maintains the same red, blue, and apricot triband as Armenia, but adds a white pattern. Like the flag of Armenia, the red symbolizes the Armenians lost in the Armenian Genocide, the blue the sky, and the apricot the country's courage. The white pattern represents Artsakh as a separate region from the "Motherland." The pattern also bares similarity to the traditional Armenian rug patterns, another symbol of national identity.

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