The Moroccan Wall of Western Sahara, aka the Moroccan Wall, or simply ‘the Berm’, is one of the least talked-about militarized zones in the world, despite holding the record for the world’s longest continuous minefield. It consists of long sandbanks, military fortifications, an estimated 7 million buried land mines, as well as large quantities of unexploded ordnance.
The origins of the Moroccan Wall can be traced back to 1975, when the Spanish occupation of Western Sahara ended. As Spanish troupes retreated from the region, neighboring countries Morocco and Mauritania swooped in to divide the territory between themselves, ignoring the wishes of the local Sahrawi people who had been fighting for independence since 1960.
In 1976, the Sahrawi formed a national liberation rebel movement called the Polisario Front and declared the independence of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). Armed conflicts erupted in the region, and although Mauritania withdrew in 1979, Morocco continued its occupation.
After suffering significant military losses, Morocco began the construction of a defensive line stretching 2,700 kilometers (1,680 miles) through Western Sahara. When construction ended in 1987, the Berm separated the region into two. The eastern part was controlled by SADR, and two-thirds of Western Sahara, where almost all economic activity was concentrated, remained under Moroccan control.
The completion of the Moroccan Wall, along with the implementation of various counterinsurgency tactics, significantly reduced the effectiveness of SADR’s guerrilla war and led to a stalemate that continues to this day. Since 1991, the territory adjacent to the wall has been under the control of UN forces monitoring the ceasefire.
The Sahrawi people, who advocate for the independence of Western Sahara, call Morocco’s fortification the “Wall of Shame,” considering it an obstacle to the integration of the two parts of a single nation.
Unfortunately, the millions of mines buried beneath the sand and the large quantities of unexploded ordnance from the war routinely cause serious injuries and deaths among the local population.
Interestingly, the Berm is not only the world’s longest minefield, but also the second longest wall in the world, after the Great Wall of China.
