Algeria hosts NARC military exercise amid Mauritania's absence and Polisario's participation

The North African Regional Defense Committee (NARC) is set to hold a military exercise in Algeria from May 21 to 27, bringing together its member states. The Polisario will take part in these drills alongside the armed forces of Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya’s Government of National Unity, led by Prime Minister Abdel Hamid Dbeibah. Libya’s Ministry of Defense convened a meeting this week to prepare for the exercise.

With less than three weeks remaining before the launch of this regional military event, Polisario-affiliated media outlets have remained silent regarding Mauritania’s participation. Nouakchott has previously distanced itself from NARC activities held in Algeria, notably skipping the Committee’s defense ministers' meeting in May 2023. The Mauritanian army was also absent from the session held in Algiers in November of the same year.

NARC is a body under the African Union’s Peace and Security Council (PSC), established in 2005. Its members include Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Tunisia, and the so-called «SADR». Morocco, for its part, only rejoined the African Union in 2017.