The Battle of Ain Ben Tili was launched by the Polisario Front on January 19, 1976. Situated in the northern region of Mauritania, Ain Ben Tili was located just a few kilometers away from the town of Bir Lehlou, near the border with Western Sahara.[6] Following repeated Polisario attacks, Mauritanian troops withdrew from the town five days later.
| Battle of Ain Ben Tili | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Western Sahara War | |||||||||
 Ain Ben Tili in 2010 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Polisario Front |
 Morocco | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Unknown |
 Cmdr. Soueidatt Ould Weddad[1] † | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
|
One F-5 shot down[4][5] | |||||||||
Attack
editThe battle at Ain Ben Tili began when Polisario Front fighters launched an attack on Mauritanian troops in the town. The battle lasted for several hours, and the Mauritanian garrison faced intense and sustained assaults from the Polisario fighters.[7] Commander Soueidatt Ould Weddad, an officer in the Mauritanian Parachute Regiment, tragically lost his life during the conflict. As the Mauritanian forces were under constant harassment, the Moroccan Air Force intervened to provide support to their Mauritanian allies.[8]
On January 21, two days after the initial attack, the conflict escalated further when a Moroccan Northrop F-5A aircraft was shot down by a SAM-6 missile while operating in Mauritanian airspace. The pilot of the aircraft was killed in the incident, making it the first Moroccan plane to be downed since the beginning of the conflict in Western Sahara.[9]
Despite the support from the Moroccan Air Force, the Mauritanian military found it increasingly difficult to maintain control of Ain Ben Tili due to the relentless attacks by the Polisario forces. As a result, the Mauritanian garrison received orders to retreat from the area on January 24, 1976, effectively ceding control of Ain Ben Tili to the Polisario Front.
References
edit- ^ Daddah, Mokhtar Ould (2003-01-01). La Mauritanie contre vents et marées (in French). KARTHALA Editions. ISBN 978-2-84586-437-5.
Il s'agit du commandant Soueidatt Ould Weddad, officier parachutiste, mort au combat le 20 janvier 1976...
- ^ Le Devoir. Le Devoir.
Selon le communiqué, Ain Ben Tili [...] les Mauritaniens ont eu deux cent huit morts...
- ^ Le Devoir. Le Devoir.
Les Mauritaniens [..] et trente-deux prisonniers...
- ^ "Un F-5 de l'armée de l'air marocaine a été abattu par un missile SAM-6 au-dessus de la Mauritanie Rabat juge l'incident " d'une extrême gravité "". Le Monde.fr (in French). 1976-01-27. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
- ^ Yata, Ali (1984). Le Sahara occidental marocain à travers les textes: Mobilisation pour préserver l'unité recouvrée, 1976-1979 (in French). Editions al-Bayane.
F-5 des Forces Royales Air a été abattu le 21 janvier 1976...
- ^ Reading Eagle. Reading Eagle.
- ^ Bangor Daily News. Bangor Daily News.
- ^ Daddah, Mokhtar Ould (2003-01-01). La Mauritanie contre vents et marées (in French). KARTHALA Editions. ISBN 978-2-84586-437-5.
- ^ "Un F-5 de l'armée de l'air marocaine a été abattu par un missile SAM-6 au-dessus de la Mauritanie Rabat juge l'incident " d'une extrême gravité "". Le Monde.fr (in French). 1976-01-27. Retrieved 2023-07-17.