Battle of Hausa
The 1989 Battle of Haouza was an armed confrontation in the Western Sahara War that took place on 11 October 1989, when Polisario Front troops attacked the Moroccan Wall in North Africa's Haouza region. The attack was seen as a POLISARIO response to the delay of the peace conversations with Morocco, and the declarations of Hassan II denying another encounter with Sahrawi representatives.[5][6]
The Battle
[edit]On 11 October 1989, the Polisario attacked the Moroccan wall in the Haouza region. The Polisario sent a mechanized battalion and a motorized battalion. According to the Polisario, they penetrated up to 20 kilometres (12 mi) into Moroccan territory beyond the wall before being pushed back or withdrawing towards the "Free Zone" east of the wall.[7] Six Moroccan observation posts or bases were taken by the Polisario,[8] the Moroccan soldiers were surprised, but the attack was finally repulsed and the Polisario suffered heavy losses because of the Moroccan air force.[1] The Moroccan air force sent its Gazelle helicopters.[3]
Casualties
[edit]The Moroccan government announced that the Moroccan army has eliminated 101 Polisario fighters, and that 11 Moroccan soldiers were killed (including a lieutenant) and 10 wounded. The Polisario would also have lost 2 BMP-1, 12 jeeps and 6 artillery systems.[3] The Polisario speaks of 190 dead, 150 wounded,[2] and 36 prisoners among Moroccan soldiers.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Cobo, Ignacio Fuente; Menéndez, Fernando M. Mariño (2006). El conflicto del Sahara Occidental (in Spanish). Ministerio de Defensa, Secretaría General Técnica. p. 21. ISBN 978-84-9781-253-5.
- ^ a b c Collette, Jean-Paul. "LE POLISARIO A REPRIS LES ARMES CONTRE LE MAROC". Le Soir (in French). Retrieved 30 August 2020.
- ^ a b c d Mrini, Abdelhak (1997). Al-Jaysh al-maghribi abra at-tarikh [The Moroccan Army Through History] (in Arabic). Rabat: Dar Nachr Al Maârifa. p. 507. ISBN 9789981808423.
- ^ "Ataque del Polisario". El País. 13 October 1989. Retrieved 22 July 2012. (in Spanish)
- ^ "Ofensiva militar saharaui ante el bloqueo de las conversaciones de paz con Marruecos". ABC. 12 October 1989. Retrieved 22 July 2012. (in Spanish)
- ^ Javier Valenzuela (12 October 1989). "Nuevo ataque del Polisario a los muros de defensa marroquíes en el Sáhara". El País. Retrieved 22 July 2012. (in Spanish)
- ^ "Nouveaux combats au Sahara occidental Le Polisario relance la " guerre des sables "". Le Monde (in French). 13 October 1989. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
- ^ Ali, Lyakat. The Western Sahara issue-decolonisation or greater Morocco (Thesis). Jawaharlal Nehru University. p. 166.
- ^ EFE (12 October 1989). "Ataque del Polisario". El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 30 August 2020.