The news of the killing of Lahbib Mohamed Abdelaziz, a senior figure within the separatist Polisario Front, was no ordinary development for the front. This was not merely another member among many whose life ended in the buffer zone during an attempt to approach the Moroccan security berm. Rather, it involved a figure widely regarded as one of the most prominent contenders for the future leadership of the Polisario.
Unlike the customary silence that often accompanies Moroccan strikes targeting Polisario elements east of the security wall, the front reacted differently this time. It officially announced his death and declared three days of mourning, despite the fact that two other militants were killed in the same drone strike. The exceptional reaction underscored the symbolic and political weight attached to Lahbib Mohamed Abdelaziz within the Polisario.
The significance of his death stems from more than his military rank. According to the Polisario's own obituary statement, he served as a member of the National Secretariat and commander of the First Combat Reserve Brigade. He was also the son of Mohamed Abdelaziz, known as Abdelaziz Al Marrakchi, who led the Polisario Front for four decades between 1976 and 2016 and was presented by the front as the president of the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.
By all appearances, his death occurred within the framework of Morocco's ongoing military operations east of the security wall. These operations have intensified since the Polisario announced its withdrawal from the 1991 UN-sponsored ceasefire following Morocco's intervention in Guerguerat on November 13, 2020. Since then, Moroccan drone strikes have repeatedly targeted Polisario units attempting to operate within the buffer zone.
What stands out, however, is the decision by the Polisario leadership, headed by Secretary-General Brahim Ghali, to entrust a politically ambitious 37-year-old figure, viewed by many as a future candidate for the front's top post, with a mission into one of the most dangerous operational zones in the conflict. Such missions have repeatedly ended in the same manner: the elimination of those involved.
Taking such a decision under current circumstances, while fully aware that the likelihood of a different outcome was minimal, inevitably raises difficult questions. Chief among them is whether the current Polisario leadership, acting in accordance with broader Algerian calculations, has embarked on a process that effectively removes potential rivals to Ghali, a leader widely perceived as closely aligned with the political and military direction promoted by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and Army Chief Saïd Chanegriha.
This possibility gains particular relevance in light of Algeria's increasing engagement, through the current Polisario leadership, in efforts aimed at reaching a negotiated settlement with Morocco under American pressure and UN sponsorship. Such efforts have been reinforced by UN Security Council Resolution 2797, which further consolidated the prominence of Morocco's autonomy proposal as the basis for what many international actors increasingly describe as a realistic, practical, and lasting solution to the dispute.
Against this backdrop, pressure on both Algeria and the Polisario has intensified. The prospect of alternative international measures, including growing calls in some political circles to classify the Polisario as a terrorist organization, has altered the strategic environment surrounding the conflict. As a result, the possibility of resolving the Sahara dispute within the framework of Morocco's territorial integrity appears more plausible today than at any point in recent years.
Such a prospect remains deeply unacceptable to a segment of younger separatist figures who remain committed to "the independence project" regardless of the political realities accumulating against it. For these voices, any settlement falling short of statehood represents a fundamental defeat of the cause they continue to champion.
Signs of this unease have become increasingly visible across platforms supportive of the separatist narrative. Activists from the Tindouf camps and members of the diaspora have openly questioned the repeated deployment of armed elements into what the Polisario describes as "liberated territories," despite Morocco's overwhelming technological superiority and extensive drone capabilities. Increasingly, questions are being raised about the viability of a military strategy pursued against an opponent that enjoys a decisive operational advantage.
The notion that the conflict has also become a mechanism for the indirect elimination of potential rivals within the front finds support among those who point to a growing list of senior figures killed under similar circumstances. Among them was Dah Al-Bendir, the Polisario's gendarmerie commander, who was eliminated in April 2021, as well as Aba Ali Hamoudi, a member of the National Secretariat and commander of the Sixth Military Region, who was killed in September 2023.
The debate acquired additional momentum following the adoption of the latest UN resolution on the Sahara issue in October 2025. Since then, a growing number of voices sympathetic to the separatist cause have begun entertaining the possibility that the current leadership, encouraged by broader Algerian strategic calculations, may be facilitating the gradual disappearance of influential figures capable of mobilizing opposition to any future political settlement.
Within this interpretation, the death of Lahbib Mohamed Abdelaziz assumes significance far beyond the battlefield. It becomes part of a broader process aimed at clearing the path toward a final political arrangement based on autonomy, while neutralizing voices that continue to aspire to the establishment of a separate state under the banner of the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Republic.
This narrative has increasingly merged with questions surrounding other deaths in the southern regions near the Mauritanian border, often officially linked to gold prospecting activities. Among sections of the separatist camp, skepticism toward such explanations has grown. Some have begun to view these incidents as part of a gradual process through which younger and more defiant figures are being removed from the equation, reducing the likelihood of organized resistance within the Tindouf camps should a political agreement eventually emerge to transform a conflict that has endured for half a century.
