Months after Mauritania elected a new president, the country launched a reconciliation process with political opponents exiled abroad, including those who took refuge in Morocco. The matter had already caused a diplomatic crisis between Rabat and Nouakchott, during the second term of Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz.
In 1977, France became the first and only country to lead a third-party military intervention into the Western Sahara conflict. The military operation was conducted on behalf of Mauritania, which was targeted by the Front’s guerilla forces.