page_title: First Battle of Amgala
hierarchical_section_title: First Battle of Amgala
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Relief Positionskarte der Westsahara English: Blank physical map of Western Sahara, for geo-location purposes. Français&#160;: Carte physique vierge du Sahara occidental, destinée à la géolocalisation. Scale: 1:3,720,000 (precision: 930 m) Equirectangular projection, WGS84 datum Central meridian: 012° 51' W Standard parallel: 24° 27' N Geographic limits of the map: Top: 28° 12' N Bottom: 20° 42' N Left: 017° 30' W Right: 008° 12' W
context_page_description: The First Battle of Amgala was fought between 27–29 January 1976 around the oasis of Amgala, Western Sahara, about 260 kilometres west of the border with Algeria.
  Units from the Algerian Army were attacked by units from the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces on the night of 27 January.
  The Algerians withdrew after fighting for 36 hours. However, the retalition came fairly soon, between 13th and 15th february 1976 Polisario units defeated Morrocan troops in the second Amgala battle.
  Spanish Sahara was one of the last colonial possessions in Africa.
  Morocco had been fighting Spain for the liberation of this territory since 1957 after the Ifni war while Polisario Front, an organization of the local Sahrawi people, had been fighting for independence since its foundation on 1973.
  The United Nations had long called for a plebiscite on the future status of the colony, but in November 1975 Spain signed an agreement under which it was split between Morocco and Mauritania with no prior referendum.
  By January 1976 Morocco controlled most towns in their assigned sector.
  Thousands of Sahrawi nomads were fleeing east to Algeria.
context_section_description: The First Battle of Amgala was fought between 27–29 January 1976 around the oasis of Amgala, Western Sahara, about 260 kilometres (160 mi) west of the border with Algeria.
  Units from the Algerian Army were attacked by units from the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces on the night of 27 January.
  The Algerians withdrew after fighting for 36 hours. However, the retalition came fairly soon, between 13th and 15th february 1976 Polisario units defeated Morrocan troops in the second Amgala battle.
  Spanish Sahara was one of the last colonial possessions in Africa.   
  Morocco had been fighting Spain for the liberation of this territory since 1957 after the Ifni war while Polisario Front, an organization of the local Sahrawi people, had been fighting for independence since its foundation on 1973.
  The United Nations had long called for a plebiscite on the future status of the colony, but in November 1975 Spain signed an agreement under which it was split between Morocco and Mauritania with no prior referendum.
  By January 1976 Morocco controlled most towns in their assigned sector. 
  Thousands of Sahrawi nomads were fleeing east to Algeria.
  Algeria claimed their troops were providing food and medical supplies to refugees at Amgala, 
  while Morocco said the Algerian troops were heavily armed and were aiding Polisario. 
  The Moroccan attack went in during the night of 27 January, and on 29 January the Algerians withdrew.
  The number of deaths on either side is disputed, but over 100 Algerians were taken prisoner.
  The two countries seemed close to war, but after intense diplomacy there were no further engagements between Algerian and Moroccan troops.
caption: Location within Western Sahara
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