| Royal Moroccan Armed Forces | |
|---|---|
| القوات المسلحة الملكية المغربية | |
 | |
| Motto | "الله، الوطن، الملك" "God, Homeland, King" |
| Founded | 1088; 937 years ago (1088) |
| Current form | 1666; 359 years ago (1666)[1] |
| Service branches | |
| Headquarters | Rabat |
| Website | tajnid revue |
| Leadership | |
| Supreme Commander | Mohammed VI |
| Minister of Defense | Abdellatif Loudiyi |
| Inspector General | Major-GeneralMohammed Berrid |
| Personnel | |
| Military age | 18 |
| Conscription | Yes[2] |
| Active personnel | 400,000[3] |
| Reserve personnel | 250,000[3] |
| Expenditure | |
| Budget | 119.766 billion MAD$11.796 billion (2023)[4] |
| Percent of GDP | 8.5% (2023)[5] |
| Industry | |
| Foreign suppliers |  United States United Kingdom Spain France Italy China RussiaOther suppliers:  Switzerland Singapore European Union Egypt Ukraine Israel India Turkey Brazil Australia Canada |
| Related articles | |
| History | Military history of Morocco Ifni War Rif revolt Sand War Six-Day War October War Western Sahara War Gulf War Insurgency in the Maghreb Intervention in Yemen Western Saharan clashes |
| Ranks | Military ranks of Morocco |
TheRoyal Moroccan Armed Forces (Arabic:القوات المسلحة الملكية المغربية,romanized: Al-Quwwat al-Musallaha al-Malakiyah al-Maghribiyah) are themilitary forces ofMorocco. They consist of theArmy, theNavy, theAir Force, theRoyal Gendarmerie, and theRoyal Guard.
The Royal Moroccan Armed Forces have experience incounter-insurgency,desert warfare and combined air-land operations. Further experience has come from participating inpeace-keeping operations.[6]
The oldest "Moroccan" military forces are those of the Mauri Berber Kingdoms from around 225 BCE.[7] The Moroccan army has existed continuously since 1088 during the rising ofAlmoravid Empire in the 11th century. During the protectorates period (1912–1955),[8] large numbers of Moroccans were recruited for service in theGoumiers andRegulars regiments of the MoroccanArmy of Morocco (French:Armée de Maroc). Many served duringWorld War I. During World War II more than 500,000 Moroccan troops (includinggoumier auxiliaries) served with theAllied forces in North Africa, Italy, France, Germany and Austria. The two world conflicts saw Moroccan units earning the nickname of "Todesschwalben" (death swallows) by German soldiers as they showed particular toughness on the battlefield. After the end ofWorld War II, Moroccan troops formed part of theFrench Far East Expeditionary Corps engaged in theFirst Indochina War from 1946 to 1954.
TheSpanish Army also made extensive use of Moroccan troops recruited in theSpanish Protectorate, during both theRif War of 1921–26 and theSpanish Civil War of 1936–39. MoroccanRegulares, together with theSpanish Legion, made up Spain's eliteSpanish Army of Africa. A para-militarygendarmerie, known as the "Mehal-la Jalifianas" and modelled on the French goumieres, was employed within the Spanish Zone.
The Royal Armed Forces were created on 14 May 1956, after the Franco-spanish Protectorate was dissolved in 1955.[9] 140,000 Moroccan personnel from the French protectoral army and 90,000 from the Spanish protectoral army Forces transferred into the newly formed armed forces, this number was augmented by approximately 15,000 former guerrillas from the "Army of Liberation", About 2,000 French and Spanish officers and NCOs remained in Morocco on short term contracts until the training programs at the military academies of St-Cyr, Toledo andDar al Bayda produced sufficient numbers of Moroccan commissioned officers. Four years later, theRoyal Moroccan Navy was established in 1960.
The Moroccan military's first engagement as an independent country in the 20th century was theIfni War, followed by theRif revolt, and thenthe border war of 1963 with Algeria,[10][11][12] In the early 1960s, Moroccan troops were sent to the Congo as part of the first multifunctional UN peacekeeping operationONUC, The Royal Moroccan Armed Forces fought on the Golan front during theYom Kippur War of 1973 (mostly in the battle forQuneitra) and intervened decisively in the 1977 conflict known asShaba I to save Zaire's regime.[13][14] After Shaba II, Morocco was part of the Inter-African Force deployed on the Zaire border, contributing about 1,500 troops.[15] The Royal Moroccan Armed Forces also took a symbolic part in theGulf War among other Arab armies.
Between 1975 and 1991, the Moroccan Armed Forces fought a16-year war against thePOLISARIO, anAlgerian backed rebel nationalliberation movement seeking the independence ofWestern Sahara from Morocco.[16] From the mid-1980s on, Morocco largely managed to keep POLISARIO troops at bay by building a hugesand wall, staffed by an army roughly the same size as the entire Sahrawi population, enclosing theSouthern Provinces within it. The enclosure contained most of the economically useful parts of Western Sahara, includingBou Craa,El-Aaiun, andSmara. The Moroccan army destroyed all the posts created by the Polisario and won decisively the majority of battles, but artillery strikes and sniping attacks by the guerrillas continued, and Morocco was economically and politically strained by the war.[17]
In the 1990s, Moroccan troops went to Angola with the three UN Angola Verifications Missions,UNAVEM I,UNAVEM II, andUNAVEM III. They were also in Somalia, withUNOSOM I,[18] the U.S.-ledUnified Task Force (UNITAF), known by its U.S. codename of 'Restore Hope' and the follow-onUNOSOM II, They saw fighting during theBattle of Mogadishu to rescue a U.S. anti-militia assault force. Other peace support involvement during the 1990s includedUnited Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) in Cambodia, and the missions in the former Yugoslavia:IFOR,SFOR, andKFOR.
On 14 July 1999, the Moroccan Armed Forces took part in the Bastille Day parade on theChamps-Élysées, which was exceptional for a non-French armed forces, at the invitation of then French PresidentJacques Chirac.[19]
_underway_in_the_Atlantic_Ocean_on_25_April_2018_(180425-N-GC347-1193).JPG)
The modern Moroccan military is composed of the following branches:
The Royal Moroccan Army is the branch of the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The army is about 375,000 troops strong,[3] In case of war or a state of siege, an additional force of 250,000 Reservists and paramilitary forces, including 50,000 regulars of the Royal Moroccan Gendarmerie and 70,000Auxiliary Forces come under the Ministry of Defense command. The Moroccan Army helped with the annexation of Western Sahara which is disputed.
The Moroccan Royal Guard is officially part of the Royal Moroccan Army, However, it is under the direct operational control of the Royal Military Household of His Majesty the King, The sole duty of the guard is to provide for the security and safety of the King and royal family of Morocco with 3,500 personnel.[3]
The Royal Moroccan Air Force is the air force branch of the Moroccan Armed Forces, It employs 13,000 personnel[3] and is equipped with more than 300 aircraft. In the 21st century, the Royal Moroccan Air Force started a progressive modernization program of its aging fleet and its technical and operational capacities.
The Royal Navy is the branch of the Moroccan Armed Forces responsible of conducting naval operations, 7,800 personnel strong[3] Its mission includes the protection of Moroccan territory and sovereignty, as well as the control of Morocco's 280,000-square-kilometre (81,000 sq nmi) Exclusive Economic Zone. Given Morocco's significant coastline (2,952 km) and strategic position overseeing the strait of Gibraltar, it (with Spain and the United Kingdom) is deeply involved in the security of this important international waterway.
The Moroccan Royal Gendarmerie is the Gendarmerie body of Morocco. The legislation which founded the Royal Moroccan Gendarmerie describes it as a public force designed to guarantee public security and public order and the implementation of laws. This legislation text attaches the Gendarmerie to the Royal Moroccan Army, then constituting a military force in its structure, administration and command forms. It consists of officers and NCOs.
CongoUnited Nations Operation in the Congo
By 20 July 1960 Morocco had deployed 1,250 troops in Congo.
SomaliaUNOSOM I,UNITAF,UNOSOM II
Bosnia and HerzegovinaIFOR,SFOR,EUFOR Althea
KosovoKosovo War
Morocco has deployed one company of soldiers[20] to contribute in the NATO-led international peacekeeping force which was responsible for establishing a secure environment in Kosovo.
HaitiMINUSTAH
In 2004, Morocco provided an infantry company as part of a joint Spanish-Moroccan battalion, which was deployed in Fort Liberté, in the north-eastern part of Haiti. Disagreements between the United Nations and the Spanish government led to Spain´s withdrawal from the mission, leaving the Moroccans in charge of a much larger area than what was initially designed. The last Moroccan troops left Haiti in 2006, and the area was covered by a battalion from Uruguay, which already had another unit in the South of the country. About six Moroccan Army officers served in the mission HQ during this period.
Morocco has deployed 6 observers, one mechanised infantry battalion and one field hospital[20] to participate in the United Nations Security Council efforts to monitor the peace process of the Second Congo War.
Ivory CoastUNOCI
Morocco has deployed one infantry battalion[20] to participate in the UNOCI peacekeeping mission whose objective is "to facilitate the implementation by the Ivorian parties of the peace agreement signed by them in January 2003" (which aimed to end the Ivorian Civil War). The two main Ivorian parties here are the Ivorian Government forces who control the south of the country, and the New Forces (former rebels), who control the north. The UNOCI mission aims to control a "zone of confidence" across the centre of the country separating the two parties.
Central African RepublicBINUCA,MINUSCA
The Moroccan Royal Armed Forces has sent a contingent of 777 Moroccan soldiers[21][full citation needed] on December 25, 2013 for the Central African Republic to be deployed in the UN Integrated Peace building Office (BINUCA). Moroccan authorities also said they stand ready to support the Central African Republic in its path toward peace and stability.[22]
The Royal Moroccan Armed Forces motto, which graces every military base, banner, and ship, is: God, The Homeland, and The King.[23]
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