US-led War Games Underway in Morocco

US M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers fire salvoes during the "African Lion" military exercises in the Grier Labouihi region in southeastern Morocco on June 9, 2021 - AFP
US M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers fire salvoes during the "African Lion" military exercises in the Grier Labouihi region in southeastern Morocco on June 9, 2021 - AFP
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US-led War Games Underway in Morocco

US M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers fire salvoes during the "African Lion" military exercises in the Grier Labouihi region in southeastern Morocco on June 9, 2021 - AFP
US M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers fire salvoes during the "African Lion" military exercises in the Grier Labouihi region in southeastern Morocco on June 9, 2021 - AFP

US-led forces are carrying out war games near the disputed region of Western Sahara, in exercises jointly organized with Morocco.

More than 7,000 personnel from nine countries and NATO are taking part in the exercises codenamed "African Lion", which kicked off on June 8, according to US Africa Command (Africom).

The manoeuvres, due to conclude on Friday, have seen rockets fired near Western Sahara, navy boats patrol off the coast of Spain's Canary Islands and air forces conduct training exercises, according to AFP.

"African Lion is US Africa Command's largest exercise," Africom said on its website, adding "the training is focused on enhancing readiness for US and partner nation forces."

Moroccan Prime Minister Saad-Eddine El Othmani said in a tweet ahead of the exercises that the event "marks the consecration of American recognition of the Moroccan Sahara".

"Exercise locations are spread mainly across Morocco, from Kenitra Air Base in the north to Tan Tan and Guerir Labouhi training complex in the south," Africom said in a statement.

In the past days, AFP correspondents have seen exercises, including parachute jump training and rocket fire, taking place in the desert on the edges of Western Sahara.

The manoeuvres were staged some 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the Algerian desert town of Tindouf, where the separatist Polisario Front has a base.

Morocco laid claim to Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony with rich phosphate resources and offshore fisheries, after Spain withdrew in 1975.

The Polisario Front took up arms to demand independence, proclaiming the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) in 1976 and fighting a 16-year war with Morocco.

Morocco now controls 80 percent of the territory, while the rest is held by the Polisario Front.

Rabat has offered Western Sahara autonomy, but maintains that the territory is a sovereign part of the kingdom.

Former US president Donald Trump recognized Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara last year after Rabat normalized ties with Israel, sparking an angry response from the Polisario.

Morocco's armed forces, which usually keep a low profile, have praised the "perfect conditions" under which the joint exercises are taking place.

And in recent days pictures, videos and statements have been posted on the unofficial Facebook page of the Far-Maroc (armed forces) of the military games.

In one video, US Major General Michael J. Turley is heard saying that Morocco has "one of the most modern armies and air forces and navies within the world."

Countries taking part in the exercises include Tunisia and Senegal, as well as Britain and Italy.



Palestinians in West Bank Strike to Demand End to Gaza War

Israeli machinery maneuvers during an Israeli operation in Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta/File Photo
Israeli machinery maneuvers during an Israeli operation in Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta/File Photo
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Palestinians in West Bank Strike to Demand End to Gaza War

Israeli machinery maneuvers during an Israeli operation in Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta/File Photo
Israeli machinery maneuvers during an Israeli operation in Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta/File Photo

Shuttered storefronts lined empty streets in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank on Monday, as Palestinians held a general strike demanding an end to the Gaza war.

"I walked through the city today and couldn't find a single place that was open," Fadi Saadi, a shopkeeper in Bethlehem, told AFP.

Shops, schools and most public administrative offices were closed across the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967.

A coalition of Palestinian political movements -- including rivals Fatah and Hamas -- called the strike to protest what they described as "the genocide and the ongoing massacre of our people".

It called for the strike "in all the occupied Palestinian territories, in the refugee camps... and among those who support our cause".

Israel resumed airstrikes on Gaza on March 18, ending nearly two months of ceasefire with Hamas. Dozens of Palestinians have been killed almost daily since Israel restarted its military offensive.

"We close today about our family in Gaza, our children in Gaza," said Imad Salman, 68, who owns a souvenir shop in Jerusalem's Old City.

"In Jerusalem, in the West Bank, we can't do something more than what we're doing here now," he told AFP.

In Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, the usually bustling commercial Salaheddin street was empty.

"This strike is in solidarity with Gaza and what is happening there, and the war being waged against the Palestinian people, whether by (US President Donald) Trump, (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu, the Israeli government, or the American government," said Ahmed, who did not want to his surname.

"This war must stop, the killing and destruction must stop, and only peace should prevail -- peace, and nothing but peace."

A rally is planned Monday in the center of the West Bank city of Ramallah, where the Palestinian Authority has its headquarters.

"This time, the strike is serious, and the population's commitment is significant because Israeli aggression now affects all Palestinian households, whether in the West Bank or Gaza," said Issam Baker, a community organiser in Ramallah.

"We have seen total commitment in support of the strike today throughout the West Bank, which has not happened since October 7" 2023, when the Gaza war started, said a security source from the Palestinian Authority.

Since the start of the Gaza war, violence has soared in the West Bank.

Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 918 Palestinians, including militants, in the territory since then, according to health ministry figures.

Palestinian attacks and clashes during military raids have killed at least 33 Israelis, including soldiers, over the same period, according to official figures.