Sahrawi General Staff chief wages unequal battle with Morocco: 50-year-old weapons against drones and satellite surveillance
Mohamed Luali Akeik (El Ayoun, 1950) is the face of the Saharawi military resistance against the Rabat regime. A face scarred by the aftermath of battle—a grenade shattered his facial nerve in a skirmish south of Tan-Tan—and the olive-green camouflage of his uniform. In his Rabouni barracks, a fortress with the appearance of a La Mancha fortress a few kilometers from the Bojador refugee camp, and flanked by pictures of martyrs like Mohamed Abdelaziz, Sidi Mohamed Basiri or El Wafi Mustafa Sayed, this Bedouin son unravels the keys to a conflict that has been going on for 49 years with no end in sight. ‘Rather dead than Moroccan’, he proclaims.
The absence of international observers makes it impossible to know the exact extent of hostilities in the region. But Algeria, the Sahrawi’s main ally and which has already left a rift in relations with Spain as a result of Pedro Sánchez’s turnaround and his support for the Morocco-sponsored autonomy plan, has reported a series of incidents, all last year and that all with drones. Such as the attack that killed three truck drivers returning from Mauritania, the attack on a commercial convoy in which a mother and her son died, or the murder of the director of the Saharawi Gendarmerie in Tifariti, the ‘liberated’ zone east of the wall.
According to Luali, Spain’s change of position is already having consequences for the development of the conflict. “Fifty years later, Moroccans continue to blackmail Spain, sometimes with Ceuta and Melilla, others with jihadist terrorism and others as the key to emigration… But agreeing to Rabat’s demands means encouraging their intransigence. Moreover, it is not in the hands of Spain to negotiate with Sahrawi sovereignty.
“Morocco – he adds – has always harbored expansive plans for this region, but we Sahrawi intervened.” The question is whether he will give them up. “Obviously this will be the case once they are aware of the threat Morocco poses to everyone. If they let him take over the Sahara, everyone else will go after him.”
The “low-intensity” conflict, according to the United Nations, which pits the Sahrawi people against Morocco was reactivated in November 2020, “after the United Nations MINURSO mission failed to fulfill its mandate to organize a referendum on self-determination. and after the Rabat regime “broke” the terms of the ceasefire declared in 1991, unleashing the Guerguerat crisis, a border post from which the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) hindered its belligerent neighbor’s trade with Mauritania .
An unequal battle, with Morocco equipped to the teeth and facing “an army of volunteers with weapons from 50 years ago,” admits Mohamed Luali. Polisario sources estimate the daily cost of maintaining “a 2,700-kilometer wall, flanked by a 300-meter strip that records the deadliest concentration of anti-personnel and anti-tank mines on the planet, to be 36 artifacts per square kilometer. Aircraft, armored vehicles , Bayraktar drones, satellite surveillance… », scares the chief of the Sahrawi General Staff, who opposes an army armed with outdated missiles and hand-numbered Kalashnikovs.
Perhaps for this reason, Morocco’s response has been more focused on repelling attacks on the wall, preventing the access of Sahrawi forces to occupied territories and hitting infrastructures capable of supporting the SADR’s military deployment, including commercial traffic. and the water sources. How do you stand against a rival of Morocco’s caliber? «Our war has always been a war of guerrillas, of intimidation; precise and surprising strokes thanks to the mobility that the desert offers. And it cannot be otherwise if we do not have human resources, material resources or strong alliances. Attack if opportunity permits, and retaliate if conditions are unfavorable».
“The war we waged until 1991 has nothing to do with the current one. So the world was divided into blocks: on the one hand, the Atlantic Alliance; on the other side the socialist countries, many African and Latin American countries that had become independent. Algeria, Libya, Cuba, Vietnam…». The scenario has changed, especially with the war in Europe which has returned Algeria and its gas to a leading role. “The countries’ economic interests have supplanted legality, justice and human rights,” says Luali, explaining this “double standard” set by the invasion of Ukraine that has led to the near-unanimous support of the West “while the Saharans don’t count for anyone.”
Mohamed Luali’s biography ties in with that of thousands of compatriots who had to leave Western Sahara after the Madrid Tripartite Accords and who made them unwelcome guests in their own country. Asked about the Spanish government’s drift in this conflict, Luali attacks a country that has “betrayed” the commitments it made to the Saharans after years of colonialism.
“Spain has now changed the step, but the truth is that it has never been a friend of ours. And least of all the socialist governments, which initially raised their voices for us and eventually handed us over to the Moroccans. His words are swept by the wind. Unlike the Spaniards, who are by far the ones who have helped the Saharans the most and shown the greatest commitment».
– Do you really think they can win?
– I’m sure of it. With our will, our perseverance, our resistance. We will win because we have legality on our side and because our people have paid a high price and are not willing to throw in the towel. We are willing to die as martyrs if necessary to regain our right to live as a people
Source: La Verdad
I am an experienced and passionate journalist with a strong track record in news website reporting. I specialize in technology coverage, breaking stories on the latest developments and trends from around the world. Working for Today Times Live has given me the opportunity to write thought-provoking pieces that have caught the attention of many readers.
