Ghosts of Old Wars: The Mystery of Weapons in Western Sahara - Revue Diplomatique - July 4th, 2025

[SSgt Waller]

Ghosts of Old Wars: The Mystery of Weapons in Western Sahara
 

On a wind-scoured plain south of Smara, Moroccan soldiers and U.S. advisors sifted through the aftermath of battle. The air still carried the acrid scent of explosives, the sand pocked with shell casings and burn marks. But what drew the most attention were the weapons seized in the operations. Among the battered rifles and empty cartridges were relics of another era: shoulder-fired Igla missiles and mid-caliber mortars, the kind once standard in Algerian arsenals.

 

The discovery has sparked a familiar round of accusations and denials, highlighting how even in a decades-old conflict, every weapon can become a political statement. Moroccan security officials, speaking off the record, claim the arms are proof of Algerian complicity. “This level of planning, this firepower — it didn’t come out of thin air,” said one senior officer. “Someone gave them the tools to hit us this hard.”

Algeria, as ever, sees things differently. In a curtly worded communiqué, its Foreign Ministry dismissed the allegations as scapegoating. “Anyone familiar with the Sahara knows these deserts are littered with remnants of past conflicts. Old arms circulate for decades on the black market. Algeria cannot be blamed for every loose round that turns up,” the statement read.

 

Italian troops training with mortars

 

The truth, as so often in the Western Sahara, is elusive. The Igla and mortar systems recovered could indeed be traced back to Algerian stocks — or they might have been stolen long ago, diverted in transit, or sold quietly by middlemen in a region where smuggling is as old as the caravan routes themselves. 

 

For Washington, the find is awkward. U.S. forces have deepened their counterinsurgency role in the region, presenting Morocco as a bulwark against jihadist chaos in the Sahel. Yet every new weapon seized raises the specter of escalation between Rabat and Algiers — a rivalry that has already frozen the Maghreb into two armed camps. European diplomats, meanwhile, worry aloud about the knock-on effects for energy supplies, migration policy, and Mediterranean stability.

 

At the heart of it all, as always, are the Sahrawi. For fighters in the Polisario Front, old weapons are less symbols than lifelines, proof that their long-buried cause is not yet forgotten. For the thousands still stranded in the camps of Tindouf, the reappearance of Cold War–era arms is another reminder that their struggle has become hostage to the shifting interests of larger powers.

 

The Igla tubes recovered in Smara are more than artifacts; they are echoes. They carry with them the ghosts of old wars, now pulled into the light of a new one. Whether they prove Algerian involvement or simply the resilience of desert smuggling networks, they are already reshaping the narrative — sharpening suspicions, hardening rivalries, and reminding the world that in Western Sahara, nothing stays buried forever. The truth always surfaces sooner or later.

 

The IGLA is a shoulder-fired 72 mm surface-to-air missile launcher.

More troubling still are recent, unverified leaks suggesting an attempt to supply the insurgents with much more than mortar tubes and rifles: night-vision goggles and an unknown number of armored personnel carriers of soviet-BTR type were allegedly handed over. If true, that would mark a significant change in intent and capability — NVG suites would extend the fighters’ operational window and precision, while armored vehicles would multiply their mobility and protection. But the caveat is essential: these claims could not be independently confirmed, and officials caution they may reflect rumor, disinformation, or loose talk among intermediaries. For now, the story of the Igla and the mortars remains evidence; the rest is a shadowed allegation that, if proven, would raise the stakes dramatically.

 

Russian BTR on a training exercise in 2020

 

Revue Diplomatique

Rachid Benyamina – North Africa and Sahel specialist