The Polisario Front continues to announce military operations targeting Morocco’s Royal Armed Forces at a time when political pressure is mounting in Washington to have the movement designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). Several U.S. senators and members of the House of Representatives have urged President Donald Trump’s administration to examine such a designation, arguing that the group’s activities pose a threat to regional stability.
Against this backdrop, the Polisario-run Sahara Press Service (SPS), which operates from a military barracks in Algeria, announced a new series of claimed attacks against Moroccan positions.
According to a statement issued by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic’s so-called Ministry of National Defense and relayed by SPS, units of the Sahrawi People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) launched an artillery attack on Wednesday afternoon against a Moroccan army support position in the Ouin Terkat area, within the Smara sector.
The statement said the operation was part of the Polisario’s self-described « war of attrition » strategy. It also claimed that Sahrawi fighters continue to carry out operations against Moroccan positions and that Morocco’s Royal Armed Forces have been forced into a defensive posture.
A few days earlier, on August 1, 2026, another SPS statement reported claimed attacks in the Amgala sector. According to the agency, forward units of the SPLA shelled Moroccan positions in the Amgli Ghaliya and Amgli Dchera areas on the evening of July 31, alleging that they inflicted human and material losses on Moroccan forces. These claims, however, originate solely from the Polisario’s own communication channels.
The latest announcements come as debate intensifies in the United States over the Polisario Front’s legal status. Several U.S. lawmakers have called on the administration to consider designating the movement as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, citing security concerns in the Sahel and alleged links to terrorist networks and armed groups, including Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), which operates across the Sahel region.
In this sensitive context, the Polisario’s continued announcements of military operations are being viewed as a direct challenge to Washington, at a time when part of the U.S. Congress is urging the administration to adopt a tougher stance toward the separatist movement.
Based for more than five decades in the Tindouf camps in Algeria, the Polisario is increasingly described by analysts and political figures as an armed terrorist group benefiting from the Algerian military regime’s diplomatic, military and financial support. This characterization comes as several U.S. lawmakers continue to advocate for its designation as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.