Nouakchott raid (1976)
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Mauritanian victory[2]
- First president of SADR El-Ouali Mustapha Sayed killed[3]
- Polisario fighters were pushed back by Mauritanian army[4]
- Polisario failed overthrow of the regime of Moktar Ould Daddah
| First Nouackchott raid | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Western Sahara War | |||||||
 Nouakchott in 2017 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Mauritania | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Moktar Ould Daddah Col. Ahmed Ould Bouceif[5] Lt-Col. Mohammed Khouna Ould Heydallah[6] |
 El-Ouali Mustapha Sayed † | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
+400 under Ahmed Ould Bouceif |
+500 (several hundred guerrillas) | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
4 killed, +10 injured[7] |
100–200 killed[8][9] | ||||||
The raid on Nouakchott in June 1976 was a significant military operation carried out by the Polisario Front, a Western Saharan guerrilla group, against the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott. Led by their leader El-Ouali Mustapha Sayed, the Polisario forces aimed to overthrow the regime of President Moktar Ould Daddah.
In early June 1976, a force of several hundred Polisario guerrillas, led by El-Ouali Mustapha Sayed, embarked on a raid from their rear base in Tindouf, Algeria. The convoy consisted of approximately a hundred vehicles, including several Berliet-Algerian trucks loaded with ammunition, communication equipment, fuel, and supplies. They were equipped with heavy weaponry, such as 120mm mortars and 110mm recoilless Russian cannons. Surprisingly, there were also "anti-aircraft ramps," although these were not utilized during the raid.[10]
The main objective of the raid was to reach Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania, which had been left practically undefended as most of the country's armed forces were stationed far to the north. The Polisario forces planned to launch an attack on President Moktar Ould Daddah's residence.[11]