Less than three weeks before the launch of a military exercise planned in Algeria under the aegis of the Defense Committee of the North African Region (North African Regional Capability – NARC), two member states mark their disengagement: Egypt and Mauritania will not take part in the event, in particular due to the participation of the Polisario.
Announced from May 21 to 27, 2025, the regional military exercise of NARC was to bring together the armed forces of its member states: Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Mauritania. But two countries recently said that they will not participate in maneuver: Egypt, in a official way, and Mauritania, by a persistent silence.
An assumed political posture
Cairo’s refusal is unequivocal. According to the Atlantic Defense Observatory, Egypt rejected the Algerian invitation on the grounds of the presence of the Polisario. The Egyptian refusal comes while Algeria currently provides the rotating presidency of the NARC. If Cairo had agreed to take part in the previous meetings organized in 2023, its position evolved in the face of the current configuration of the exercise, in particular due to the participation of the Polisario.
On the side of Nouakchott, the lack of official communication is revealing. Already absent from the NARC meetings organized in Algeria in May and November 2023, Mauritania confirms its withdrawal, by not taking part in current preparations or the prior consultations. This diplomatic prudence is a continuation of a position regularly marked by the reserve as soon as the name of the Polisario is associated with regional military activities.
-This double defection comes as voices are in the United States to designate the Polisario as a terrorist organization. The Republican Congressman Joe Wilson has announced its intention to propose legislation in this direction, highlighting the alleged links of the movement with extremist networks and hostile powers such as Iran. A report from the Hudson Institute strengthens this position, accusing the Polisario of collaborating with terrorist groups and of threatening regional stability.
These initiatives reflect an increasing awareness of the risks represented by the Polisario for regional security and the interests of the Allies of the United States, in particular Morocco.
The presence of the Polisario within the NARC, despite its documented links with terrorist groups, throws a shadow on the credibility of this organization. The attempts to Algiers trivialize these links underline a disturbing will, especially when members of the Polisario, such as Mustapha Sidi Ali El Bachir, call to carry out attacks against foreign civilians present in the Moroccan Sahara. His remarks encouraging the militias to perpetrate attacks against investors and foreign tourists underline not only a radical posture but also reinforce the arguments of the United States to designate the Polisario as a terrorist organization.
