Polisario: Frustration rises at Algeria’s waning military support

Algeria’s long-standing support for the Polisario Front appears to be faltering, as growing voices within the movement openly criticise Algiers for withholding military aid. According to Yabiladi, tensions are mounting between radical factions of the Polisario and the Algerian government, traditionally one of their closest allies.

In a recent statement circulated on social media, Rachid Zineddine — a journalist and influential figure from Naama, now based in Spain — condemned the lack of tangible support from Algeria. “We no longer want statements of solidarity or condemnation, we want weapons,” he declared. “If we had been armed, we could have avoided this situation. They [the Moroccans] have humiliated us.” Zineddine, who once pledged to document the Polisario’s operations against Morocco, has yet to fulfil that promise.

Discontent isn’t isolated to Zineddine. During a closed-door meeting of the Polisario’s general secretariat in February, Bachir Mustapha Sayed — brother of the group’s late founding president, El Uali Mustafa Sayed — directly criticised Algeria’s cautious stance. “The Algerians don’t want the conflict with Morocco to escalate beyond a certain point that could jeopardize their own interests,” he reportedly stated.

This rising frustration reflects a deeper rift between the Polisario leadership and its main regional backer. Algeria’s reluctance to fully arm the movement is not new. Back in 2021, just days after Donald Trump’s inauguration, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune publicly acknowledged the pressure, admitting that “the Sahrawis are demanding weapons that we refrain from supplying for the moment.”

The recent declarations from Polisario figures suggest those tensions are now surfacing more visibly — a potential sign of shifting dynamics within one of North Africa’s longest-running geopolitical standoffs.

Yablid, HESPRESS, Maghrebi.org