Back معركة أمكالة الأولى Arabic بیرینجی امقالا دؤیوشو AZB Primera batalla de Amgala Spanish Première bataille d'Amgala French ამგალის პირველი ბრძოლა Georgian

First Battle of Amgala

First Battle of Amgala
Part of the Western Sahara War
Date27–29 January 1976
Location
Amgala, Western Sahara
26°26′48″N 11°30′53″W / 26.44667°N 11.51472°W / 26.44667; -11.51472[1]
Result

Moroccan victory

Belligerents
 Morocco  Algeria
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Polisario Front
(alleged by Morocco)
Commanders and leaders
Morocco King Hassan II
Morocco Mohamed Ben Othman		 Algeria Pres. Houari Boumediene
Algeria Lounès Arib
Strength
2 battalions of 600 men 1 battalion of 400 men[2]
Casualties and losses
440 killed
(Polisario claim)
400 killed
(Algerian claim)[3]
2 Killed, 16 wounded
(Moroccan claim)[4]
1 Moroccan F-5 aircraft shot down[5]
 200 killed
106–118 captured
(Moroccan claim)[6][7][3]
First Battle of Amgala is located in Western Sahara
First Battle of Amgala
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Location within Western Sahara

The First Battle of Amgala was fought between 27 and 29 January 1976 around the oasis of Amgala, Western Sahara,[a] about 260 kilometres (160 mi) west of the border with Algeria. Units from the Algerian Army were attacked by units from the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces on the night of 27 January.[10] The Algerians withdrew after fighting for 36 hours.[11] However, the retaliation came fairly soon, between 13 and 15 February 1976 Polisario units defeated Moroccan troops in the second Battle of Amgala.

Spanish Sahara was one of the last colonial possessions in Africa.[12] Morocco had been fighting Spain for the liberation of this territory since 1957 after the Ifni war while Polisario Front, an organization of the local Sahrawi people, had been fighting for independence since its foundation on 1973.[13] The United Nations had long called for a plebiscite on the future status of the colony, but in November 1975 Spain signed an agreement under which it was split between Morocco and Mauritania with no prior referendum.[12][14] By January 1976 Morocco controlled most towns in their assigned sector.[9] Thousands of Sahrawi nomads were fleeing east to Algeria.[15]

Algeria claimed their troops were providing food and medical supplies to refugees at Amgala, while Morocco said the Algerian troops were heavily armed and were aiding Polisario. The Moroccan attack went in during the night of 27 January, and on 29 January the Algerians withdrew. The number of deaths on either side is disputed, but over 100 Algerians were taken prisoner.[4] The two countries seemed close to war, but after intense diplomacy there were no further engagements between Algerian and Moroccan troops.[16]

  1. ^ Rodrigue 2011, p. 69.
  2. ^ Barbier 2003, p. 185.
  3. ^ a b Cuatrocientos muertos ... 1976.
  4. ^ a b Hughes 2006, p. 252.
  5. ^ "La polémique continue entre Alger et Rabat sur la seconde bataille d'Amgala". Le Monde. 18 February 1976. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  6. ^ Abdelhak El Merini, L'armée marocaine à travers l'Histoire, Dar Nachr Al Maârifa 2000, p.421 (ISBN 9981-808-42-3)
  7. ^ Mohsen-Finan, Khadija (23 April 2015). "Conflit du Sahara occidental, de la guérilla au gel durable". Orient XXI (in French). Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  8. ^ a b Chatty 2010, p. 42.
  9. ^ a b Thompson, Thompson & Adloff 1980, p. 176.
  10. ^ Hollowell 2009, p. 11.
  11. ^ Argelia acusa ... 1976.
  12. ^ a b Suksi 1993, p. 257.
  13. ^ Naylor 2006, p. 384.
  14. ^ McDonald & Fischer 2005, p. 376.
  15. ^ Jensen 2005, p. 29.
  16. ^ Zartman 1990, p. 44.


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