Sahara : Moroccan army drone strikes Algerian truck near Bir Lahlou

A Royal Armed Forces (FAR) drone strike on Wednesday, June 4, destroyed an Algerian-registered truck east of the Sand Wall near Bir Lahlou, killing all three occupants on board. The truck, which was returning from Mauritania, had entered the region from southern Algeria. It remains unclear why the vehicle entered this active conflict zone or what it was carrying.

In response, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune convened a meeting of the High Security Council, as briefly noted in a statement from the Algerian presidency. However, Algerian media did not report the drone strike or mention Morocco's involvement.

This incident is not unprecedented. Moroccan drones have previously targeted Algerian trucks in the area, prompting verbal warnings from the Algerian government, though these threats have not led to concrete action.

Since the Polisario Front resumed hostilities on November 13, 2020, the FAR has effectively enforced a no-go zone east of the Sand Wall, significantly limiting movement in the area and forcing the Polisario to retreat from what it had declared «liberated territories». Bir Lahlou, where the strike occurred, was once regarded as the «capital» of the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.