The Polisario Front announced that three of its members, including the son of its late longtime leader Mohamed Abdelaziz, were killed during an operation targeting Morocco’s defensive wall in Western Sahara, according to Arab News.
The Sahrawi Press Service (SPS) reported on Sunday that Lehbib Mohamed Abdelaziz, a member of the Polisario Front’s secretariat, was killed during military operations, describing his death as having occurred “on the field of honor.”
Interestingly, his father, Mohamed Abdelaziz, was a central figure within the Polisario Front, serving as the president of the self-declared Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) from its establishment in 1976 until his death in 2016.
The Polisario Front declared three days of official mourning following the death of Lehbib Mohamed Abdelaziz.
The group said the 37-year-old officer was among those killed during an operation against Morocco’s fortified defense line in Western Sahara but did not disclose the identities of the other dead.
Crucially, Spanish media reported that Moroccan forces were suspected of carrying out a drone strike east of the defensive barrier.
Sand Wall
Known as the Sand Wall, the vast fortified wall spans nearly 2,700 kilometers (1,700 miles) across Western Sahara.
Morocco erected the barrier between 1980 and 1987 to secure territory under its control and prevent incursions by pro-independence fighters.
Western Sahara, a vast territory rich in mineral resources and a former Spanish colony, is mostly controlled by Morocco. However, the Algeria-backed Polisario Front has maintained its claim to the region for decades.
In 2025, the UN Security Council, with support from the Trump administration in Washington, voted in favor of a Moroccan proposal to assert sovereignty over Western Sahara while granting it autonomy.
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