Morocco’s plan to build major military base in Sahara, geostrategic game-changer against Algeria’s subversive plots
Morocco is planning to build a major military base in the southernmost tip of the Sahara to counter growing terror threats in the Sahel, according to intelligence reports cited by several media outlets.
The military base will carry out surgical airstrikes against jihadists operating the Sahel in coordination with the United States and France and in close cooperation with the authorities in Mali, Niger and Burkina-Faso.
The expansion of terrorist operations in the Sahel represents a direct threat to the national security of Morocco which has launched the Atlantic access initiative for Sahel countries. The North African Kingdom is also building a new strategic road linking its Southern Saharan city of Smara to Mauritania.
These landmark projects are expected to transform the geostrategic landscape of the Sahel and sub-Sahara region. The Moroccan initiative seeks to address shared security and development challenges, focusing on the roots of instability.
Last month, Moroccan authorities foiled a major terrorist plot that was hatched by ISIS branch operating in the Sahel to undermine the country’s stability and regional economic projects. Twelve members of this terrorist cell were nabbed. The “Lions of the Caliphate in Maghreb Al Aqsa” were operating in several Moroccan cities. They received their orders from senior ISIS leader Abderrahmane Assahraoui.
The terrorist cell was planning to set up a Moroccan branch of ISIS-Sahel terrorist organization seeking to expand operations to North Africa and Europe.
The Moroccan military base comes to counter the growing terror threats in the Sahel following the withdrawal of French forces from this region and erosion of Western influence, leaving a security vacuum exploited by Islamist militants.
Morocco is positioning itself as an exporter of peace, stability and a key player in the fight against terrorism in North Africa and beyond. Over the past years, Rabat has enhanced its security partnership with Western powers to contain the jihadist threat before it reaches the gates of Europe.
Morocco, which holds annually military exercise with the United States (African Lion), has just received six AH-64E Apache attack helicopters equipped with state-of-the-art technology, including advanced General Electric turbine engines, Longbow fire-control radars, and multi-domain warheads.
More Apache helicopters will be delivered to the North African Kingdom as the State Department had approved in 2019 the sale of 36 of these most advanced helicopters in the world.
The Kingdom has also an important fleet of U.S. and French fighter jets. To strengthen further its military power, the country acquired a wide variety of reconnaissance & warfare drones from Turkey, USA, China and other partner countries.
Morocco’s growing economic and military power is making Algerian regime extremely agitated and concerned over losing control over their country becoming more precarious than ever.
In a bid to escape accountability, the Algerian ruling junta has launched lately an orchestrated “black propaganda” campaign targeting Morocco’s sacred political institutions to deflect public attention from deepening socioeconomic and political crises.
But, the Algerian propaganda, which is bearing the hallmarks of cold war era, turns out to be a counter-productive tool and just a wasted time & energy for nothing.
Consumed with despair and diplomatic setbacks, the Algerian rulers are now playing their final cards to sow chaos and instability in the region and Sahel. However, their desperate suicidal strategy and impulsive policy will backfire, triggering the collapse of the military regime like the Assad dynasty.
