First Battle of Amgala ( 1976 ) The First Battle of Amgala ( 1976 ) was fought on 27 – 29 January 1976 around the oasis of Amgala , Western Sahara , about 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 . Spanish Sahara was one of the last colonial possessions in Africa . The Polisario Front , an organization of the local Sahrawi people , had been fighting for independence for several years . 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 and one other possible encounter at Amgala in February 1976 there were no further engagements between Algerian and Moroccan troops . Background . The sparsely populated region of Western Sahara was formerly the Spanish colonial possession of Spanish Sahara . It was mainly inhabited by the Sahrawi people , a nomadic people of mixed Arab and Berber origin who practice Sunni Islam . In 1966 the United Nations General Assembly called on Spain to hold a plebiscite on self - determination for the territory . The United Nations reaffirmed this demand several times in the following years , the last time on 10 December 1975 . In May 1973 the Polisario Front was formed to fight for independence . Algeria provided a haven for Polisario and for Sahrawi refugees in the Tindouf area . Over the following years , Polisario gained control over large parts of the interior . Polisario ' s numbers were increased by deserters from the Spanish - led Tropas Nómadas and territorial police . Under the Madrid Accords of 14 November 1975 , Spain agreed to divide the region between Morocco and Mauritania without holding a referendum . Details of the agreement were secret , but seem to have included economic concessions to Spain . The Moroccan army entered Dakhla ( formerly Villa Cisneros ) on 9 January 1976 , and on 12 January was joined by Mauritanian troops . On that day the last Spanish Legion troops left the Western Sahara . Algeria , which had not been consulted in the Madrid Accords , had launched a campaign in support of Western Sahara self - determination . In December 1975 large numbers of Moroccans were expelled from Algeria , and Algeria began to infiltrate troops into Western Sahara . By the end of 1975 there were 20 , 000 Algerian soldiers in the Spanish Sahara or in the neighboring Tindouf zone . According to the Red Cross , about 40 , 000 refugees were fleeing eastward to escape the advancing Moroccan forces . Battle . In January 1976 , the Amgala waterhole was being used as a staging point for refugees being evacuated to Algeria , assisted by Algerian troops . According to the Algerians , their troops were supplying refugees with food and medical supplies . The Moroccans said that the Algerians were heavily armed with field guns , mortars , anti - aircraft guns and missiles . Some sources say Polisario fighters were present at Amgala , and Algeria had supplied an SA - 6 antiaircraft battery with trained Algerian operators so Polisario could fend off Moroccan aircraft using napalm bombs . The Moroccans showed reporters Soviet - made missiles with Algerian army markings at the site a few days after the battle . On the night of 27 January , Moroccan troops surprised the Algerian troops at Amgala . The subsequent engagement lasted for 36 hours . According to Moroccan sources , about 1 , 200 men were involved in the battle including Algerian soldiers and Sahrawi militia men . The Algerians withdrew on 29 January . A Polisario spokesman said 440 Moroccans were killed . A Moroccan spokesman said only two of the attackers died and fourteen were wounded , while about 200 Algerians were killed and 109 captured . The Moroccans said they also captured twelve Sahrawis from the Polisario Front . The Algerian newspaper " El Moudjahid " claimed 400 Moroccan deaths , and went on to say Algeria would have chosen more effective weapons and a more strategic location than the Western Sahara if the intent had been to attack Morocco . International Red Cross officials confirmed the number of Algerian prisoners when they visited them in their place of detention near Rabat . Aftermath . The day after the attack , on 28 January Algerian President Houari Boumediene sent messages to heads of state around the world . To leaders of the non - aligned countries he said that Algeria was concerned only with the right to self - determination of their brothers and neighbors in Western Sahara , who were facing what amounted to genocide . To the socialists he talked of the Moroccan imperialist strategy in the region . To the western leaders he talked of the right to a free and fair referendum to determine the future of the country . Algeria also presented their position to the United Nations and its Security Council , and held a series of meetings with Arab leaders . Egypt took the most active role in the follow - up diplomacy , calling for an immediate cease - fire and a meeting between the heads of state of Morocco , Algeria and Egypt to resolve the issue , but this was not accepted . Algeria started to provide arms and training to Polisario forces . On 3 February 1976 Morocco declared that it was willing to submit its dispute with Algeria to arbitration by the Arab League , the Organization of Arab Unity or the United Nations . The U . N . Secretary General appointed Olof Rydbeck , the Swedish ambassador to the U . N . as a mediator . Rydbeck ' s appointment was welcomed by Algeria , but treated with reserve by Morocco . He visited Western Sahara between 7 and 11 February , visiting El Aaiún , Dakhla and Smara . Although he talked to some local people , he was not able to meet Polisario representatives . While this diplomacy was continuing , Morocco and Mauritania were completing their occupation of the country . On 12 February 1976 the Moroccan army occupied Al Mahbes , a community from the Algerian border that commanded the route to Tindouf . Polisario could not hope to defeat the Moroccan army in open battle , so adopted a guerilla policy of raids and withdrawals to create a zone of insecurity . Renewed fighting flared up at Amgala in February 1976 . In an engagement on the night of 14 – 15 February a force attacked the garrison that Morocco had left at Amgala , causing several dozen deaths . The Moroccan garrison was almost wiped out . Hassan II of Morocco immediately accused Algeria of involvement in the attack , saying the Algerians had used heavy weapons " in numbers conceived for annihilation . " Algeria denied that they had participated , and said only Polisario forces had been involved . These two engagements at Amgala are the only two cases where Algerian and Moroccan troops came into conflict during the Western Sahara War . There were many stories of later Algerian involvement , but there was no proof since no Algerian prisoners were taken after Amgala . In Addis Ababa later that month , Algeria worked for recognition of the Polisario Front by the Organisation of African Unity . Spain officially withdrew from the territory on 27 February 1976 , and that day Polisario formally proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic ( SADR ) . Algeria recognized SADR on 6 March 1976 . The next day Morocco broke off diplomatic relations with Algeria . Later in the spring of 1976 , Polisario regained Amgala . Morocco took the position once again in May 1977 . Ten years later , with a thawing of relations between Algeria and Morocco , on 25 May 1987 one hundred and fifty Moroccan prisoners of war were exchanged for 102 Algerian soldiers captured during the Battle of Amgala in 1976 . Further serious fighting occurred at the oasis in the Battle of Amgala ( 1989 ) , when Polisario fighters attacked and defeated Moroccan troops before retreating . References . Notes Citations Sources