![]() ![]() US Africa Command (AFRICOM) did not mention it as part of the exercises. Mahbes is the location of a 1985 battle over Western Sahara. Morocco’s armed forces highlighted the inclusion of Mahbes in African Lion. ![]() The Biden administration has never explicitly confirmed that it has kept that policy in place, but current State Department maps of Morocco include Western Sahara. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, which has long called for an internationally backed referendum of Western Sahara residents to determine the region’s future.Īs a key part of last year’s Trump White House-brokered normalization agreement between Morocco and Israel, the United States became the first major power to recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. Moroccan and other media have claimed that locations of military exercises taking place during African Lion would include the disputed Western Sahara region, around 80% of which is controlled, and all of which has long been claimed, by Morocco. Egypt is among the observer countries this year. Military observers from some 15 countries representing Africa, Europe and the Americas are attending the exercise, with an eye to joining next year. The operations have been conducted on land, in the air and at sea. The US military continues its coyness surrounding its military activities in the disputed Western Sahara.Įxercise African Lion, which started on June 7 and concludes on Friday, has brought together the armies of allied countries, including the US and its partners, Morocco and Senegal, along with the UK, Canada, Brazil, Tunisia, the Netherlands and Italy, as well as the Atlantic Alliance, for a total of some 8,000 troops. ![]() US military won’t explicitly deny what others are confirming in Western Sahara ![]()
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