Morocco’s Royal Armed Forces (FAR) have been able to clear an approximate 6,035.2 square kilometers of land in the south from mines, as of this April 2022.
In response to a written question on demining Western Sahara, the Minister Delegate to the Head of Government in charge of the Administration of National Defense, Abdellatif Loudiyi said that “three units were mobilized to clean up large areas polluted by mines.”
According to the official, “populated areas, grazing areas and wells and unpaved tracks linking residential areas to cities were prioritized, in addition to the areas dedicated to development projects.”
The operation, which had initially launched in early 2007, allowed the neutralization of 5,117 anti-personnel mines, 16,907 anti-vehicle mines and to evacuate 21,708 unexploded ordnances.
Since the beginning of these operations, 388 victims of mine explosions have been recorded, including 50 civilian and military casualties, said Loudiyi.
Loudiyi stressed that there are two types of mines in the southern provinces of the Kingdom, mines that have been laid in accordance with internationally recognized military standards to support the defensive lines of military units, and arbitrary mines that have been laid by the seperatist Polisario Front.
For the mines laid by Moroccan authorities, FAR holds maps detailing the locations of minefields, which will allow them to be removed as soon as border security is ensured by Morocco. However, authorities do not have the detailed locations for the mines laid by the Polisario, which complicates the demining process.
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