Millions of ammunition buried under sand: what the world's longest minefield looks like (2 photos + 1 video)

The Moroccan Wall is a 2,700-kilometer-long, mined, militarized zone that divides Western Sahara, a disputed region in southern Morocco.





The Moroccan Wall of Western Sahara is one of the least discussed militarized zones in the world, despite being the world's longest continuous minefield. It consists of long sandbars, military fortifications, an estimated 7 million buried landmines, and a large quantity of unexploded ordnance.

There are millions of mines buried under the sand, along with a large amount of unexploded ordnance from the war. Even today, they regularly cause serious injuries and deaths among the local population.



Interestingly, the Moroccan Wall, or Berm, is not only the longest minefield in the world, but also the second-longest wall in the world after the Great Wall of China.

"Moroccan Wall": What is known

The history of the Moroccan Wall can be traced back to 1975, when the Spanish occupation of Western Sahara ended. Spanish troops then retreated from the region, and neighboring countries Morocco and Mauritania intervened to divide the territory between themselves, ignoring the wishes of the local Saharawi people, who had been fighting for independence since 1960.

In 1976, the Polisario Front was established, declaring independence for the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. Armed conflicts then erupted in the region. Although Mauritania withdrew from the territory in 1979, Morocco continues to occupy it.

Having suffered significant military losses, Morocco began construction of a 2,700-kilometer defensive line across Western Sahara. Completed in 1987, the wall divided the region in two. The eastern half was controlled by the SADR army, while the two-thirds of Western Sahara, where almost all economic activity was concentrated, remained under Moroccan control.