1991 Tifariti offensive

Operation Rattle
	Part of Western Sahara War
	; Remains of a Moroccan Northrop F-5 shot down in Tifariti by guerilla forces during Operation Rattle.
Date	4 August 1991 to 6 September 1991
Location	Tifariti, Bir Lehlou, Mehaires, Mijek & Agwanit, Western Sahara
Result	Destruction of Tifariti & Bir Lehlou; temporary depopulation of the Liberated Territories
Belligerents
Morocco	Polisario Front / SADR
Strength
10,000–100,000 soldiers; 300 tanks; Royal Moroccan Air Force support (14 planes)	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown killed; Unknown wounded; 1 captured	Unknown killed; Unknown wounded
	Civilian casualties:; 30 killed; 24 wounded; 100 missing

Operation Rattle, also known as the 1991 Tifariti offensive, was the last military operation in the Western Sahara War by the Royal Moroccan Army against the Polisario Front, seeking independence for Western Sahara. A ceasefire (accorded to be in effect from 6 September 1991) had been agreed between the parts on July. During August and the first days of September 1991, the Royal Moroccan Army (RMA) conducted offensive operations in the areas of Mehaires, Tifariti, Bir Lahlou, Mijek and Agwanit, resulting in multiple Sahrawi civilian casualties, the destruction of Tifariti and Bir Lahlou, poisoning of the wells and subsequently depopulation of the area.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.