Polisario supporters question Algeria after arms delivery to Niger

Some Sahrawis in the Tindouf camps have voiced anger at Algeria over its delivery of weapons to the authorities in Niamey on August 9. The shipment included two Mi-24V combat helicopters and two Mi-171 transport aircraft, as well as other «military equipment», according to Algerian media.

In response, some Sahrawis called on their Algerian «ally» to supply the Polisario with weapons to wage war against Morocco.

«Algeria has reaffirmed its support for the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination and independence. A question must be put to the Sahrawi people: do you prefer drones and helicopters, or empty statements of solidarity?», asked Said Zarwal, a Polisario member based in Sweden.

Similar criticism had already surfaced when Algeria supplied weapons and drones to the Malian opposition. Faced with renewed questions, Polisario members explained in social media posts that Algeria had pledged to its arms suppliers not to transfer the weapons to the Front.

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune had previously acknowledged that his government refused to meet the Polisario’s requests for weapons. «The Sahrawis are asking for weapons, which we are refraining from giving them», he said in a February 2025 interview with a French daily.

Beyond refusing these requests, Algeria has also declined to allow its territory to be used as a launchpad for attacks against Moroccan positions.

Since withdrawing from the ceasefire on November 13, 2020, the Polisario has used Mauritanian territory to fire projectiles at Moroccan military and civilian targets.