Morocco

Kingdom of Morocco

The Kingdom of Morocco (المملكة المغربية) was originally inhabited by Berbers and was known as Mauretania during the classical period. It was the Phoenicians that first built substantial settlements there, governing parts of present day Morocco as a colony as early as the 6th century BCE. As a province of the Roman Empire the region was known as Mauretania Tingitana, and after the fall of Rome it was briefly occupied by the Vandals and Visigoths before being incorporated into the Byzantine Empire. Most of the mountainous regions of present day Morocco remained unsubdued during this time period, inhabited only by native Berbers.

Arab invaders brought their language and Islam to Morocco in the late 7th century, but their control over the region was short-lived and between 739 and 743 the Berber population revolted and reclaimed their traditional lands. A series of small states and kingdoms would arise under Berber control, and eventually several dynasties would rule over all of Morocco from the 11th through the 13th centuries. Over the course of the following centuries, migrations would increase the Arab population dramatically, while many of the native Berbers returned to a nomadic way of life. By the 16th century, the Saadi Empire would rule over most of Morocco, followed in turn by the Alaouite dynasty, which would reign until 1912. Increased European interest in all of Africa, however, culminated in the Treaty of Fez (1912) which made Morocco a protectorate of France, although appointing Spain protector of much of the Saharan region and thus establishing Spanish Morocco. Unfair treatment under the French colonial system and a sense of nationalism would result in some violent outbreaks in the 1950s, leading ultimately to the granting of independence by France in 1956.

Shortly after achieving independence, a movement to reclaim Spanish possessions in West Africa began, culminating in the siege of Sidi Ifni. The Ifni War (aka la Guerra Olvidada) broke out in November 1957 when Moroccan forces converged on Spanish areas in the Ifni region, forcing the Spanish to relinquish control and retreat to the city itself. An eight month siege began, but the city remained supplied by sea and ultimately Moroccan forces were repelled from Spanish Sahara with French assistance. In April, a treaty was signed that relinquished control of most of the Spanish possessions, excepting the city of Sidi Ifni itself (which remained Spanish until 1969).

The Royal Moroccan Armed Forces (القوات المسلحة الملكية المغربية) were founded in the year of independence (1956) as the Forces Armees Royales (FAR), and today consist of the Royal Army, Royal Moroccan Air Force, Royal Navy, Royal Gendarmerie, and the Garde Royale (Royal Guard). In total, approximately 256,000 active duty personnel comprise the entire armed forces. the Direction Générale de la Sûreté Nationale (المديرية العامة للأمن الوطني) or DGSN is the national police force of Morocco with more than 70,000 personnel. The agency includes the Border Police, Mobile Intervention Corps, and the National Brigade.

The Royal Moroccan Army fought on the Golan front during the Yom Kippur War of 1973, and intervened decisively in the 1977 conflict known as "Shaba I" to save Zaire's regime. They also sent a small contingent to assist coalition forces during the Persian Gulf War.

The longest-standing conflict involving Moroccan forces was a sixteen year conflict with the Polisario Front (Frente Popular de Liberación de Saguía el Hamra y Río de Oro), an Algerian-backed national liberation movement seeking independence for Moroccan-governed Western Sahara. Although Moroccan forces achieved military superiority in the region, the extensive commitment of personnel and resources eventually took a toll and in September 1991 a cease-fire agreement was reached, which is still in effect.

Morocco is also an active participant in many United Nations-sponsored peacekeeping missions, including MONUC, ONUCI, EUFOR, KFOR and MINUSTAH.

Moroccan Camouflage Patterns

Since achieving independence and establishing its own armed forces, the majority of Moroccan military personnel have worn solid-color uniforms, initially dark khaki and in more modern times various shades of olive green. The use of olive green has continued right into the 21st century, and it is only very recently that camouflage appears to have taken to being universally issued in the FAR.

• Moroccan copies of the French tenue de leópard or lizard pattern have been in service since the 1980s (possibly the 1970s, by airborne personnel), although they have typically seen fairly limited issue. Many variations have been documented, including a vertical pattern worn by the Marines of the Moroccan Navy. The earliest patterns seem to mimic the original French designs, with very detailed brushstrokes and similar colors. Later variations have thicker, less defined stripes and very dark colors, the brown being almost maroon. In 2021, it was announced the Armed Forces would finally retire these designs, in favor of a more updated pattern. The exception to this has been with the GSIGR unit of the Gendarmerie Nationale, which still uses lizard pattern in 2025.

• This jigsaw camouflage pattern, originally printed commercially on raingear in France (K-Way) and Belgium (Salik), was adopted by the Morrocan Guard Royale around 2001 and is printed on a variety of items, including full uniforms, parkas and wet weather gear. The color scheme of the Moroccan design is slightly different than that found on K-Way or Salik items, incorporating jigsaw-type shapes in black, blue-grey, and medium brown, on a khaki background. That said, there are photographs from the Moroccan SFOR deployment showing Army personnel wearing what is probably the original Salik rain gear, so this may have been where the pattern originally entered service.

• Introduced in the 1993, a "desert lizard" camouflage pattern began to appear Morrocan Armed Forces, typically on deployments abroad or operations in particularly arid regions of Morocco.

• Limited use of French CE woodland pattern camouflage has been made by certain elements of the Armed Forces, particularly special-use items such as coveralls, helmet covers, fragmentation vests, and ballistic armor covers. Parachute Riggers Teams of 1st and 2nd Parachute Infantry Brigades (BIP), have been photographed wearing full coveralls in this design, and elements of the 1er Bataillon de chasseur de l'Atlas, the Army's elite mountain infantry unit, frequently wear full uniforms.

• The Royal Moroccan Gendarmerie has had an elite police tactical unit since 1987, originally called the Groupement de Sécurité et d'Intervention Royale or GSIR. The corps has a number of sub-units, including a SWAT team, EOD team, air assult team, parachute squadron (BIP), maritime assault team, and a Commando Group assigned to the Garde Royale. Circa 2006, some members of the wore a woodland style pattern with a blue colorway, sometimes lighter colored and sometimes darker colored.

• The General Directorate for Territorial Surveillance (Direction Général de Surveillance du Térritoire) or DGST is a secretive branch of the National Police (Sûreté Nationale) that focuses on domestic intelligence, counter-espionage, counter-terrorism, and the security of national assets. Within the DGST, the Rapid Intervention Group (GIR) is a special operations unit that specifically deals with direct-action counter-terrorism. The unit typically employs all-black operational gear, but on many occasions some members have been photographed wearing a woodland-type camouflage design with an urban color palette of black, grey, and off-white.

• An announcement in 2019 ushered in a new camouflage design for the Moroccan Armed Forces, which began its full implementation in July of 2021. In addition to featuring a more modern and updated ripstop fabric, the new camouflage uniform design performs suitably in both desert and vegetated environments, incorporating a color scheme similar to that of many other nations in the region and around the world. The primary colors of the new design are dark brown, medium brown, and olive green, in shapes printed on a sand-colored background.