How Morocco’s new airbase links Saharan strategy to Sahelian security

Morocco is currently attempting to bridge the gap between its ambitions in the Sahara and the Sahel region by centring its operations on the Bir Anzarane airbase, located within the disputed Saharan territory, government-friendly Atalayar reports on April 29th. Finished in 2023 near the city of Dakhla, the facility provides high-tech surveillance capabilities that cover hundreds of kilometres across the defence wall and the south-eastern Sahara.

According to the Spanish news outlet which has links to Morocco, this military infrastructure could be of great use to the United States, which is currently rethinking its own footprint in West Africa. Following the 2023 Russian-backed military coup in Niger and the subsequent American withdrawal from the Agadez drone base, Washington is seeking new reliable partners to compensate for lost influence in the region. Morocco and the US’s partnership seems to be at an all-time high, as they signed a 10-year defence roadmap in April. Traditionally, military collaboration between the United States and Morocco has taken place as far south as the Oued Draa base near Tan-Tan, which is about 132 miles north of the contested Saharan region. However, as the American diplomatic stance on the Saharan issue continues to evolve in favour of Morocco, collaboration could bypass previous regional constraints and expand further south into the Bir Anzarane base. This would bring American troops much closer to the Sahel. 

The move toward Bir Anzarane is part of a broader shift in Moroccan foreign policy, which increasingly frames the Sahel not just as a neighbour, but as a strategic priority for continental “inclusion.” Rabat has actively deepened security ties with African nations such as Mali, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Mauritania, seeking to position Bir Anzarane as a regional anchor of stabilisation.

The urgency of this shift is driven by the Sahel’s descent into a security crisis. While the region is rich in mineral resources, it has also become a major transit zone for trafficking arms, drugs, and human beings. Rabat now views the stability of neighbouring Sahelian states as a direct extension of its own domestic security.

Rabat’s official position is that military force alone is not enough. Instead, Morocco advocates for a “risk management” strategy. This vision pairs traditional security with sustainable human development and calls for greater accountability from local officials.

Maghrebi.org, Atalayar.