Battle of Guelta Zemmur (1989)
| Battle of Guelta Zemmour | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Western Sahara War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Morocco | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| unknown | Lahbib Ayub | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
14 killed 31 wounded (Moroccan claim) |
80 killed or wounded (Moroccan claim) | ||||||
The Battle of Guelta Zemmur occurred on 7 October 1989, when POLISARIO guerrillas commanded by Lahbib Ayub attacked the village of Guelta Zemmur on the Moroccan side of the Moroccan Western Sahara Wall. The attack was the first major military engagement in the war since 1988, as the Polisario Front had ended negotiations with Morocco in that year. The King of Morocco, Hassan II, responded to the offensive by rejecting a second meeting with POLISARIO leaders. According to the Spanish newspaper El País, at least a hundred soldiers from both sides were killed in the clashes.