On the eighth of June every year, Mauritania commemorates the painful memory of the attack launched against its capital, Nouakchott, by the Polisario Front with military and logistical support from Algeria. During this assault, the attackers were defeated, and among those killed was the founder of the Polisario Front, El-Ouali Mustapha Sayed, in the area of “Sebkhat Oum Tounsi”, north of the Mauritanian capital. Following this military success, the Mauritanian army displayed El Ouali’s remains and a large quantity of weapons reportedly bearing the label “Gift from Libya.” At the time, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi supplied weapons and financial assistance, while Houari Boumediene provided political, intelligence, and military support as well as sanctuary.
The Libyan-Algerian alliance against Morocco and Mauritania in the Sahara issue represented a coordinated political and military front in which Boumediene’s geopolitical ambitions intersected with Gaddafi’s revolutionary aspirations. As a result, the Polisario found itself operating as an instrument within a broader regional geopolitical confrontation that went beyond the territorial dispute over the Sahara. This situation dragged Mauritania into a war of attrition for which its economy and population were not prepared, ultimately contributing to the military overthrow of President Moktar Ould Daddah on 10 July 1978.
In his memoir “Mauritania Facing Storms and Waves”, the late Mauritanian President Moktar Ould Daddah stated that the attack on Nouakchott marked a new phase of the conflict, as the capital itself had become a direct military target. He described the assault as a serious attempt to undermine the stability of the Mauritanian state and weaken its ability to maintain its sovereign choices. According to this perspective, the strategies orchestrated by Algeria and Libya aimed to weaken the Moroccan-Mauritanian alliance and neutralize Mauritania by drawing it into the Algerian-Libyan camp, thereby undermining Morocco’s stability, where the Sahara issue was considered a fundamental pillar of state stability and the continuity of the monarchy.
A turning point in Mauritania’s Role in the Sahara dispute
Therefore, understanding the developments of the Sahara conflict requires acknowledging the central role played by Mauritania since the beginning of the dispute. Mauritania’s geography, history, social structures, and tribal connections make it far more than a mere neighboring country; it has been, and remains, a strategic depth for Morocco and a directly concerned actor in the various transformations of the conflict since the 1970s. Contrary to interpretations that reduce Nouakchott’s role to that of a “neutral observer,” despite its diplomatic recognition of the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Republic, historical developments demonstrate that Mauritania has remained at the heart of major events shaping the conflict, whether during the military confrontation phase or during efforts to achieve a political settlement.
The Algerian-Libyan alliance sought to create a political upheaval and a profound shock within Mauritania in order to generate internal pressure against the regime of Moktar Ould Daddah. This objective partly explains the attack on Nouakchott on 8 June 1976. On that day, the capital faced an unprecedented assault led by Polisario forces under the command of its founder, El-Ouali Mustapha Sayed. However, the Mauritanian National Army repelled the attackers, killing hundreds of combatants, including the Polisario’s founder and Secretary-General as well as his military deputy. Approximately 200 armed fighters were captured, while four Mauritanian soldiers were killed and around ten others were wounded during the attack.
The operation ended in the failure of the attacking force and the death of El-Ouali Mustapha Sayed, a turning point not only in the history of the Polisario Front but also in the broader regional balance of the conflict. Militarily, Mauritania demonstrated its ability to protect its institutions despite the difficult circumstances it faced at the time. Politically, the events revealed the limitations of attempts to alter the regional balance of power through direct military action against the Mauritanian state. Several researchers and analysts have linked the attack to the regional context in which Algeria and Libya operated during that period, believing that weakening Mauritania’s position could facilitate a restructuring of political balances in the region. However, the outcome was contrary to these expectations, as the assault failed to achieve its objectives and became one of the Polisario’s most significant military setbacks.
Nevertheless, the attack had considerable military, political, and economic consequences within Mauritania. The balance of power inside the Mauritanian military establishment shifted in 1979, leading to the signing of a peace agreement with the Polisario Front in Algeria in August of that year. Mauritania sought to withdraw from the conflict and renounced its claims over the region of Tiris al-Gharbiya (Western Tiris), which it had acquired under the 1975 Madrid Accords. However, the Mauritanian withdrawal did not leave a political or military vacuum for long, as Morocco quickly moved to consolidate its presence in the territory. The Polisario and Algeria failed to regain control of the area following their defeat in the Battle of Bir Anzarane on 11 August 1979.
A delicate equilibrium
Despite the transformations that have characterized Mauritanian foreign policy in subsequent decades, including its diplomatic recognition of the so-called Sahrawi Republic, observers of Moroccan-Mauritanian relations note that the deep strategic ties between the two countries have remained stronger than temporary political fluctuations. Morocco and Mauritania are linked by geopolitical, security, and economic considerations that make the stability of each closely connected to that of the other.
Since the 1976 attack on Nouakchott and Mauritania’s recognition of the Sahrawi Republic in 1979, the country has faced various forms of pressure from Algeria and the Polisario throughout different stages of the conflict. Among the most significant concerns has been avoiding any situation that could draw the Mauritanian army into confrontations or border incidents with Polisario forces. The tensions surrounding the Guerguerat crossing and attempts to block traffic through it highlighted the strategic sensitivity of Mauritania’s geographical position, as the country relies on the stability of this corridor to maintain the flow of trade with Morocco and West African states. Mauritanian authorities and media viewed the closure of the crossing as a threat to the country’s economic interests because it disrupted the movement of goods and contributed to higher prices of essential commodities. Consequently, Guerguerat evolved from a simple border crossing into a strategic point with broader geopolitical and economic implications.
Perhaps the most serious challenge Mauritania faced after the 1976 Nouakchott raid was the closure of the Guerguerat crossing in 2020 by Polisario elements, allegedly encouraged by Algeria. This crossing constitutes one of the main overland trade routes connecting Europe and Morocco with Mauritania and West Africa. Trade exchanges between Rabat and Nouakchott represent an important component of the Mauritanian economy, particularly in food, agricultural, and industrial products. Meanwhile, Algeria has sought to strengthen its economic presence in Mauritania through strategic projects, including the Tindouf–Zouerate road, the development of border crossings, and cooperation in trade and energy. For this reason, some analysts have interpreted the encouragement of the Guerguerat blockade as a form of indirect economic warfare within the wider geopolitical and economic competition between Algeria and Morocco for influence in the Sahel and West Africa.
The repeated targeting of civilians through projectiles launched by Polisario elements from within Mauritanian territory has further complicated the strategic environment along Mauritania’s borders, particularly as such incidents have recurred and have been condemned internationally as violations of Moroccan sovereignty. Although the Mauritanian state maintained public silence, a position generally interpreted as an expression of diplomatic neutrality, it has simultaneously worked discreetly to strengthen its military presence in border areas by intensifying surveillance and controlling the frontier zone. Its objective has been to prevent its territory from being used as a corridor or launching ground for military operations or potential attacks. Mauritania has also sought to enhance security coordination with the Moroccan armed forces while maintaining field contacts with Algerian authorities and the Polisario to assess common threats and improve border cooperation mechanisms.
The Mauritanian experience within the context of the Sahara conflict demonstrates that balancing security, diplomatic, and economic considerations represents a long-term strategic choice rather than a temporary position. Caught between the pressures of geography and the complexities of regional rivalry, Nouakchott continues to pursue a policy of flexible neutrality, strengthening its internal security while maintaining channels of communication with the different actors in its regional environment.
