This was part of a larger scale French military effort to effectively occupy the interior of the Sahara (e.g. Tindouf or Smara) which were previously exempt from any foreign presence.

On 20 January 1976, the Polisario Front (a guerrilla movement demanding the independence of Western Sahara) surrounded and attacked the isolated fort killing the few Mauritanians which were stationed there.

[1] During this attack, a Mauritanian "Commandant" (Soueidatt Ould Weddad) was killed and a Moroccan Northrop F-5 fighter aircraft called for support was shot down by the POLISARIO.

A French Legionnaire's grave marked by a distinctive cross is located at Ain Ben Tili; his name was "Brigadier Tison" and he died in 1934 during the building of the fort.

As of 2012[update], Ain Ben Tili was occupied by the Mauritanian military who are attempting to secure the border area from al-Qaeda militants based in Mali who "raid" into Northern Mauritania and are connected to the many smugglers who operate in the greater Sahara region.