1980s 1990s The Battles of La Güera and Tichla took place between 10 and 22 December 1975, when the Mauritanian Army invaded the southern part of Western Sahara, which was the zone agreed to be annexed by Mauritania in the Madrid Accords.

[4] A few hours later, POLISARIO flags waved on the main buildings of La Güera, after dozens of Sahrawi guerrilla fighters captured it and set up their own administration,[5] and the town became cut off from air, sea and land.

The Saharawi troops, made up of a hundred soldiers, under the command of Buzeid Uld Hmayen, were in a critical and desperate situation since they were isolated by land, sea and air with no possibility of retreat.

[7] Tichla fell to Mauritanian troops on 20 December, while the town of El Argoub, near Villa Cisneros, was captured on January 11, 1976, after having been besieged for two weeks.

[8] The few surviving Sahrawi soldiers from El Argoub were first relocated to the border between the Sahara and Mauritania, being then supplied and evacuated with the assistance of the Algerian Army to Algeria.