Armed group profile · SD Strength Index
Polisario Front: military strength 2026
How strong is the Polisario Front's military in 2026?
Polisario's armed wing, the Sahrawi People's Liberation Army, is organised in military regions under the command of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, the state the movement proclaimed. Silent Dossier estimates about 6,000 fighters, within a range of 3,000 to 10,000. Sources aligned with Polisario give 20,000 to 30,000 active soldiers; Silent Dossier treats that as a claim, and at most it describes the men who could be mobilised.
On the Silent Dossier index it sits behind JNIM in the Sahel and ahead of the armed groups aligned with Libya's Tripoli government. Its firepower is among the weakest of any group on the index. Cohesion is its strength: the movement is centrally led and has a secure rear base.
How much of Polisario's force is professional?
Silent Dossier estimates 2,000 to 5,000 fighters in standing units, a large share of the estimated 6,000 total. Behind them is a reserve of men in the Tindouf refugee camps in Algeria who could be called up, but nobody has counted it. Its units are centrally disciplined and organised like a small conventional army.
What weapons does the Polisario Front have?
Old ones. The last detailed count, from 2021, listed about 70 T-55A and 30 T-62 tanks supplied by Libya in the 1980s, plus about 35 BMP-1, 25 BTR-60PB, 19 EE-9 and 12 BRDM-2 armoured vehicles. All are more than 40 years old and how many still run is unknown. Artillery includes D-30 howitzers, heavy mortars, BM-21 Grad launchers and Type-63 107 mm rocket launchers.
Air defence is a handful of 1980s SA-6, SA-8 and SA-9 systems, probably degraded or out of service, plus portable SA-7 missiles and anti aircraft guns. Polisario has no aircraft, no boats and no missiles. No drone fleet is documented. Morocco says Iran has supplied drones; the claim is unverified and has been denied. Rockets fired across the berm reach an estimated 10 to 40 km.
What fighting has there been since 2020?
The 1991 ceasefire collapsed in November 2020 after the Guerguerat crisis. Since then the fighting has been at low intensity. Polisario units mount raids and fire rockets and projectiles at the berm, the sand wall Morocco built across the territory, and at Smara, where one person was killed in October 2023 and projectiles landed again in June 2025.
Morocco controls about 80 per cent of Western Sahara and answers with drone strikes in the thinly populated zone east of the berm. Polisario's 1980s air defence offers little protection against them, and the strikes have killed commanders and fighters. In June 2026 one near Mijek reportedly killed a commander and two others.
Who supports the Polisario Front?
Algeria is the main backer. It hosts the Tindouf camps, where the movement is based, and gives political and logistical support. Libya supplied most of the heavy equipment in the 1980s. Other income comes from diaspora and solidarity networks, and the camps' population depends on international humanitarian aid. Morocco says Iran and Hezbollah also help Polisario; that claim is unverified too.
Where do talks on Western Sahara stand?
In October 2025 UN Security Council Resolution 2797 backed Morocco's autonomy plan as the basis for negotiations. Polisario insists on a referendum on the territory's future. Talks in Washington and Madrid in April 2026 ran under US and UN mediation. Moroccan media reported that Polisario had dropped its independence demand, which Polisario does not accept. By October 2026 the two sides' positions had not narrowed ahead of the renewal of the UN mission, MINURSO.
Key figures
| Fighters | 3,000–10k | C |
| Full-time trained core | 2,000–5,000 | C |
| Ballistic missiles | 0 | B |
| Cruise and anti-ship missiles | 0 | B |
| Longest strike range (km) | 10–40 | C |
| Drones | ~0 | C |
| Air-defence systems | 0–7 | C |
| Tanks | 50–100 | C |
| Armoured vehicles | 50–91 | C |
| Aircraft | 0 | B |
| Boats | 0 | B |
A confirmed B strong estimate C estimated range
Main weapons
| T-55A / T-62 tanks | 50–100 | C |
| BMP-1, BTR-60PB, EE-9, BRDM-2 | 50–91 | C |
| BM-21 / Grad-P 122 mm and Type-63 107 mm rockets | — | B |
| Toyota technicals with ZPU/ZU-23 | — | B |
| SA-6, SA-8, SA-9, SA-7 | 0–7 | C |
Assessment
| Firepower | 1/5 | |
| Cohesion and command | 4/5 | |
| Outside support | 3/5 | |
| Combat experience | 2/5 | |
| Professionalism | 3/5 |
Backers. Algeria
Ground. It operates from Tindouf in Algeria and the thinly populated zone east of Morocco's berm, around Tifariti, Bir Lahlou and Mijek. Morocco controls about 80% of Western Sahara.
Professional or irregular. Organised as a conventional army in military regions under the command of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, it is centrally disciplined, with an estimated 2,000 to 5,000 standing troops. Its equipment dates from the 1970s and 1980s, and since 2020 it has managed only small raids and rocket fire.
What changed in 2026
Questions readers ask
How many fighters does the Polisario Front have?
Silent Dossier estimates about 6,000, within a range of 3,000 to 10,000, with 2,000 to 5,000 in standing units. Figures of 20,000 to 30,000 from sources aligned with Polisario are a claim and are not used.
Does the Polisario Front have drones?
No drone fleet has been documented. Morocco says Iran has supplied drones to Polisario, but the claim is unverified and has been denied.
Who supports the Polisario Front?
Algeria, which hosts the Tindouf camps and provides political and logistical support. Libya supplied most of its tanks and air defence in the 1980s.
Is the Polisario Front at war with Morocco?
Fighting at low intensity has run since the ceasefire collapsed in November 2020. Polisario fires rockets and mounts raids near the berm, and Morocco responds with drone strikes east of it.
How much of Western Sahara does Morocco control?
About 80 per cent of the territory, west of the berm. Polisario operates from Tindouf in Algeria and the thinly populated zone east of the berm.