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TheMoroccan Western Sahara Wall or theBerm, also called theMoroccan sand wall (Arabic:الجدار الرملي,romanized: al-jidār ar-ramliyya,lit. 'sand wall'), is an approximately 2,700 km-long (1,700 mi)berm running south to north throughWestern Sahara and the southwestern portion ofMorocco. Itseparates[1] the Moroccan-occupied areas (theSouthern Provinces) on the west from thePolisario-controlled areas (Free Zone, nominallySahrawi Arab Democratic Republic) on the east. The main function of the barriers is to prevent a Sahrawi state, keeping independence-seekers away from the region's natural resources, located in the Moroccan-occupied part of the territory.[2]
According to maps from theUnited Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO)[3] or theUnited Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),[4] in many places the wall extends several kilometers into internationally recognizedMauritanian territory.[5]
The wall is also called theWestern Sahara berm and theWestern Sahara separation barrier.
The fortifications lie in uninhabited or very sparsely inhabited territory. They consist ofsand andstone walls orberms about 3 m (10 ft) in height, with bunkers,fences, andlandmines throughout. The barrier minebelt that runs along the structure is thought to be the longest continuous minefield in the world.[6] Military bases, artillery posts and airfields dot the Moroccan-occupied side of the wall at regular intervals, andradar masts and other electronic surveillance equipment scan the areas in front of it.
The following is one observer's description of the berm from 2001:
Physically, the berm is a 2 m [6 ft 7 in] high wall (with a backingtrench), which rides along a topographical high point/ridge/hill throughout the territory. Spaced out over every 5 km [3 mi] are big, small and medium bases, with approximately 35–40 troops at eachobservation post and groups of 10 soldiers spaced out over the distance as well. About 4 km [2+1⁄2 mi] behind each major post there is arapid reaction post, which includes backingmobile forces (tanks, etc). A series of overlapping fixed and mobileradars are also positioned throughout the berm. The radars are estimated to have a range of between 60 and 80 km [35 and 50 mi] into the Polisario-controlled territory, and are generally utilized to locateartillery fire onto detected Polisario forces. Information from the radar is processed by aforward-based commander, who contacts arear-basedartillery unit.[7]
In all, six lines of berms have been constructed.[8] The main ("external") line of fortifications extends for about 2,500 km (1,600 mi). It runs east fromGuerguerat on the coast in the extreme south of Western Sahara near the Mauritanian town ofNouadhibou, closely parallelling theMauritanian border for about 200 km (120 mi), before turning north beyondTichla. It then runs generally northeastward, leavingGuelta Zemmur andSmara, again crossing Mauritanian territory and reachingHaouza in Moroccan-held territory, before turning east and again closely following theAlgerianborder as it approaches Morocco. A section extends about 200 km (120 mi) into southeastern Morocco.[9][10]
Significant lines of fortifications also lie deep within the Moroccan-occupied area.[11] Their exact number and location have been ignored and not well understood until 2004 by international commentators.[12]
All major settlements in Western Sahara, the capitalLaayoune, and thephosphate mine atBou Craa lie far into the Moroccan-held side.
The fortifications were progressively built by Moroccan forces starting in 1980, with help from South African, South Korean, and Israeli advisors, and formally ending on 16 April 1987.[8] The wall was built in six stages, and the area behind the wall was expanded from a small area near Morocco in the north to most of the western and central part of the country gradually. The walls built were:
In the summer of 2005, theMoroccan Army accelerated the expulsion (begun in late 2004) ofillegal immigrants detained in northern Morocco to the eastern side of the wall, into theFree Zone. The Polisario Front and the MINURSO rescued several dozen lost in the desert, who had run out of water. Others died of thirst.[13] By October, the Polisario had received 22 immigrants inMehaires, 46 inTifariti and 97 inBir Lehlu. They were from African countries (Gambia,Cameroon,Nigeria,Ghana, etc.), except a group of 48 who were fromBangladesh.[14][15]
Since 2008, a demonstration called "The Thousand Column" is held annually in the desert against the barrier by internationalhuman rights activists and Sahrawi refugees. In the 2008 demonstration, more than 2,000 people (most of them Sahrawis andSpaniards, but alsoAlgerians,Italians, and others) made ahuman chain demanding the demolition of the wall, the celebration of theself-determinationreferendum accorded by the UN and the parts in 1991, and the end of the Moroccan occupation of the territory.[16]
During the 2009 demonstration, a teenage Sahrawi refugee named Ibrahim Hussein Leibeit lost half of his right leg in alandmine explosion.[17][18] The incident happened when Leibeit and dozens of young Sahrawis crossed the line into a minefield while aiming to throw stones to the other side of the wall.[19][20]
Effectively, after the completion of the wall, Morocco has occupied the bulk of Western Sahara territory that lies to the north and west of it, calling these the kingdom's "Southern Provinces". The Polisario-foundedSahrawi Arab Democratic Republic controls the mostly uninhabited "Free Zone", which comprises all areas to the east of the barrier. Units from the United Nations mission MINURSO separate the two sides, and enforce cease-fire regulations.
Western attention to the wall, and to the Moroccanannexation of Western Sahara in general, has been minimal, apart fromSpain. InAfrica, the annexation of Western Sahara by Morocco has attracted somewhat more attention. Algeria supports the Polisario Front "in its long-running desert war to oppose Moroccan control of the disputed area".[21][22] TheOrganization of African Unity/African Union (AU) and United Nations have proposed negotiated solutions.
The AU's stance on Western Sahara led toMorocco's exit from the organization. After a 33-year absence, Morocco rejoined on 30 January 2017, despite 9 member states voting against, but 39 supporting.[23] Morocco was re-admitted with the understanding that Western Sahara will remain an AU member.
However, with the completion of the Moroccan separation wall in the 1980s,...
Until now, no mention has been made in the media or international politics of the fact that Morocco has had a 'security wall' for more than twenty years, consisting of meters high sand mountains, bunkers, barbed wire barriers and minefields. The structure is 2,500 kilometers long (longer than the Great Wall of China) and aims to keep Polisario guerrillas out of Morocco and the part of Western Sahara occupied by that country since 1976.
31°47′30″N7°05′33″W / 31.7916°N 7.0925°W /31.7916; -7.0925
