Ifni War
The Ifni War, sometimes called the Forgotten War in Spain (la Guerra Olvidada), was a series of armed incursions into Spanish West Africa by Moroccan insurgents that began in October 1957 and culminated with the abortive siege of Sidi Ifni.
| Ifni War | |||||||||
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| Part of the Decolonisation of Africa | |||||||||
Borders of the Ifni territory before and after the war. | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Francisco Franco | Ben Hammu | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
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15,300 men
| 30,000 men | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
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190 dead 500 wounded 80 missing | 800–1,000 dead | ||||||||
| 7 civilian deaths | |||||||||
| Part of a series on the |
| Western Sahara conflict |
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| Background |
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| Regions |
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| Politics |
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| Clashes |
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| Issues |
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| Peace process |
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The city of Sidi Ifni had been ceded to the Spanish Empire in 1860 at the end of the Hispano-Moroccan War. After Morocco achieved independence in 1956, it sought to claim Spain's remaining possessions in West Africa. Violent demonstrations against Spanish rule broke out in Ifni in April 1957, and in October Moroccan militias began converging near the territory. Moroccan forces attacked in November, forcing the Spanish to abandon most of the territory and retreat to a defensive perimeter around Ifni. Supplied by the Spanish Navy from the sea, the Spanish garrison was able to resist the siege, which lasted into June 1958. In Spanish Sahara, Moroccan units, now reorganised as the Moroccan Army of Liberation, engaged in heavy fighting with Spanish forces at El Aaiún and Edchera. By February 1958, a joint Spanish and French offensive had driven the Moroccans out of Spanish Sahara.
Hostilities ceased in April 1958 (although small skirmishes still occurred) with the Treaty of Angra de Cintra, signed by the Spanish and Moroccan governments, by which Cape Juby and most of the Ifni territory were transferred to Morocco. The city of Sidi Ifni remained in Spanish possession until 1969, when, under international pressure, it was relinquished to Morocco.