Abstract
The little-known Lamantin military operation was a French intervention carried out between December 1977 and July 1978 by a squadron of Jaguars taking off from the OUKAM 160 air base near Dakar, Senegal. These strikes targeted the Sahrawi liberation army in Western Sahara and northern Mauritania. Despite the support of Moroccan forces, Mauritania was targeted by the Polisario in 1977, particularly on the 650km railway linking the Zouerate iron ore mine to the port of Nouadhibou, which is essential to the Mauritanian economy. President Mokhtar Ould Daddah, faced with the threat to his regime, requested French military intervention. With the Mauritanian army unable to counter the Polisario, Paris intervened. The operation was shrouded in secrecy to avoid repercussions, especially given France’s colonial past in Africa. Testimonies from Sahrawi and French officers shed light on this intervention.
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