The Royal Moroccan Armed Forces are large, expensive and well-trained with extensive experience in counter-insurgency, desert warfare and combined air-land operations. Further experience has come from participating in peace-keeping operations.[7]
The oldest "Moroccan" military forces are those of the Mauri Berber Kingdoms from around 225 BCE.[8] The Moroccan army has existed continuously since 1088 during the rising of Almoravid Empire in the 11th-century. During the protectorates period (1912–1955),[9] large numbers of Moroccans were recruited for service in the Spahi and Tirailleur regiments of the French Army of Africa (French: Armée d'Afrique). Many served during World War I. During World War II more than 300,000 Moroccan troops (including goumier auxiliaries) served with the Free French forces in North Africa, Italy, France and Austria. The two world conflicts saw Moroccan units earning the nickname of "Todesschwalben" (death swallows) by German soldiers as they showed particular toughness on the battlefield. After the end of World War II, Moroccan troops formed part of the French Far East Expeditionary Corps engaged in the First Indochina War from 1946 to 1954.
The Royal Armed Forces were created on 14 May 1956, after the French Protectorate was dissolved in 1955.[10] 14,000 Moroccan personnel from the French Army and 10,000 from the Spanish Armed Forces transferred into the newly formed armed forces, this number was augmented by approximately 5,000 former guerrillas from the "Army of Liberation", About 2,000 French officers and NCOs remained in Morocco on short term contracts until the training programs at the military academies of St-Cyr, Toledo and Dar al Bayda produced sufficient numbers of Moroccan commissioned officers. Four years later, the Royal Moroccan Navy was established in 1960.
The Moroccan military's first engagement as an independent country in the 20th century was the Ifni War, followed by the Rif revolt, and then the border war of 1963 with Algeria,[11][12][13] In the early 1960s, Moroccan troops were sent to the Congo as part of the first multifunctional UN peacekeeping operation ONUC, The Royal Moroccan Armed Forces fought on the Golan front during the Yom Kippur War of 1973 (mostly in the battle for Quneitra) and intervened decisively in the 1977 conflict known as Shaba I to save Zaire's regime.[14][15] After Shaba II, Morocco was part of the Inter-African Force deployed on the Zaire border, contributing about 1,500 troops.[16] The Royal Moroccan Armed Forces also took a symbolic part in the Gulf War among other Arab armies.
Between 1975 and 1991, the Moroccan Armed Forces fought a 16-year war against the POLISARIO, an Algerian backed rebel national liberation movement seeking the independence of Western Sahara from Morocco.[17] From the mid-1980s on, Morocco largely managed to keep POLISARIO troops at bay by building a huge sand wall, staffed by an army roughly the same size as the entire Sahrawi population, enclosing the Southern Provinces within it. The enclosure contained most of the economically useful parts of Western Sahara, including Bou Craa, El-Aaiun, and Smara. The Moroccan army destroyed all the posts created by the Polisario and won decisively the majority of battles, but artillery strikes and sniping attacks by the guerrillas continued, and Morocco was economically and politically strained by the war.[18]
On 14 July 1999, the Moroccan Armed Forces took part in the Bastille Day parade on the Champs-Élysées, which was exceptional for a non-French armed forces, at the invitation of then French President Jacques Chirac.[20]
Branches
A Moroccan F-16 fighterA Self Propelled Howitzer M109A5 of the 15th Royal Moroccan Artillery GroupFrigate Mohammed VI, the most modern and flagship of the Alawite fleet
The modern Moroccan military is composed of the following branches:
The Royal Moroccan Army is the branch of the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The army is about 175,000 troops strong,[3] In case of war or a state of siege, an additional force of 150,000 Reservists and paramilitary forces, including 20,000 regulars of the Royal Moroccan Gendarmerie and 30,000 Auxiliary Forces come under the Ministry of Defense command. The Moroccan Army helped with the annexation of Western Sahara which is disputed.
The Moroccan Royal Guard is officially part of the Royal Moroccan Army, However, it is under the direct operational control of the Royal Military Household of His Majesty the King, The sole duty of the guard is to provide for the security and safety of the King and royal family of Morocco with 1,500 personnel.[3]
The Royal Moroccan Air Force is the air force branch of the Moroccan Armed Forces, It employs 13,000 personnel[3] and is equipped with more than 300 aircraft. In the 21st century, the Royal Moroccan Air Force started a progressive modernization program of its aging fleet and its technical and operational capacities.
The Royal Navy is the branch of the Moroccan Armed Forces responsible of conducting naval operations, 7,800 personnel strong[3] Its mission includes the protection of Moroccan territory and sovereignty, as well as the control of Morocco's 280,000-square-kilometre (81,000 sq nmi) Exclusive Economic Zone. Given Morocco's significant coastline (2,952 km) and strategic position overseeing the strait of Gibraltar, it (with Spain and the United Kingdom) is deeply involved in the security of this important international waterway.
The Moroccan Royal Gendarmerie is the Gendarmerie body of Morocco. The legislation which founded the Royal Moroccan Gendarmerie describes it as a public force designed to guarantee public security and public order and the implementation of laws. This legislation text attaches the Gendarmerie to the Royal Moroccan Army, then constituting a military force in its structure, administration and command forms. It consists of officers and NCOs.
History of participation in peacekeeping operations
Moroccan soldiers during African Lion 2021 exercises
Morocco has deployed one company of soldiers[21] to contribute in the NATO-led international peacekeeping force which was responsible for establishing a secure environment in Kosovo.
In 2004, Morocco provided an infantry company as part of a joint Spanish-Moroccan battalion, which was deployed in Fort Liberté, in the northeastern part of Haiti. Disagreements between the United Nations and the Spanish government led to Spain´s withdrawal from the mission, leaving the Moroccans in charge of a much larger area than what was initially designed. The last Moroccan troops left Haiti in 2006, and the sector was covered by a battalion from Uruguay, which had already another unit in the South of the country.
About six Moroccan Army officers served in the mission HQ during this period.
Morocco has deployed 6 observers, one mechanised infantry battalion and one field hospital[21] to participate in the United Nations Security Council efforts to monitor the peace process of the Second Congo War.
Morocco has deployed one infantry battalion[21] to participate in the ONUCI peacekeeping mission whose objective is "to facilitate the implementation by the Ivorian parties of the peace agreement signed by them in January 2003" (which aimed to end the Ivorian Civil War). The two main Ivorian parties here are the Ivorian Government forces who control the south of the country, and the New Forces (former rebels), who control the north. The UNOCI mission aims to control a "zone of confidence" across the centre of the country separating the two parties.
The Moroccan Royal Armed Forces has sent a contingent of 777 Moroccan soldiers[22][full citation needed] on December 25, 2013 for the Central African Republic to be deployed in the UN Integrated Peace building Office (BINUCA). Moroccan authorities also said they stand ready to support the Central African Republic in its path toward peace and stability.[23]
Motto
The Royal Moroccan Armed Forces motto, which graces every military base, banner, and ship, is: "God, The Fatherland, and The King".[24]
God: Creator of all destiny, by His Mercy we draw from, He ordains our choice to right path.
The Fatherland: Land that begets our bounty, from which we sustain ourselves we protect its integrity and defend it from all enemies.
King: Our commander and guide, he guides our renaissance and development, protector of our people's rights."
Auxiliary Forces a paramilitary force composed of army veterans which, following the command of the Ministry of the Interior, supplements the military, Gendarmerie and police when needed.
United States
United Kingdom
Spain
Italy
Turkey
France
People's Republic of China[6]
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