Tropas Nómadas facts for kids

The Tropas Nómadas (which means "Nomad Troops" in Spanish) were a special military group. They helped the Spanish army in a place called Spanish Sahara. This area is now known as Western Sahara. These troops existed from the 1930s until 1975. That's when Spain left the territory.

The Tropas Nómadas were made up mostly of Sahrawi tribesmen. These were local people who knew the desert well. Spanish officers led the group. The soldiers used small weapons. They guarded military bases and went on patrols. Sometimes they rode on camels across the desert.

How They Started

Spain did not have a permanent army in the Sahara until 1926. That year, a local police force was created. It was called the Foot Police Company. It was based at Cape Juby.

In 1928, this unit was replaced. The new group was called the Saharan Police Troops. This force was bigger. Some of its members rode camels. They worked further inland, away from the coast. About half of the soldiers were local Saharan people. They knew the climate and conditions very well. The other soldiers came from other Spanish army groups.

Setting Up the Tropas Nómadas

The "Tropas Nómadas del Sahara" were first formed in the early 1930s. They had a special camel unit. This unit was like the French "Meharistes," who were desert police.

Later, the Tropas Nómadas started using vehicles more. But camel units were still used until the 1970s. Most of the officers were Spanish. Some non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and specialists were also Spanish. Over time, more Spanish soldiers joined the Tropas Nómadas. Many of them were young men doing their military service.

By 1974, about 1,374 Sahrawis were part of the Spanish army. Most of them were in the Tropas Nómadas. This was out of about 74,000 local people living there at the time. Spain gave military training to several thousand Sahrawis in total.

End of Spanish Rule

The Tropas Nómadas served Spain well for many years. But their loyalty was tested when a local rebellion began. This was led by the Polisario Front from 1973 to 1975.

In May 1975, some soldiers in the Tropas Nómadas started to disobey orders. Two groups of Saharan soldiers took over their Spanish colleagues. They took them as prisoners to Algeria.

Later in 1975, the Spanish government decided to leave the territory. They handed it over to Morocco and Mauritania. Many of the local soldiers then left the Tropas Nómadas. The remaining soldiers were disbanded.

Many former Tropas Nómadas soldiers are believed to have joined the Polisario Front. These Spanish-trained fighters became the main part of the Sahrawi People's Liberation Army. This army was formed to fight Morocco and Mauritania after the Green March.

Uniforms

The soldiers in the camel units were called "askaris." They wore long, flowing white robes. They also wore blue turbans on their heads. Other local soldiers wore khaki uniforms. They had blue or khaki turbans.

Policía Territorial

There was another local unit that served the Spanish government. It was called the Policía Territorial. This was a police force. It was similar to the Civil Guard in Spain. Spanish officers led this unit. It also included Spanish personnel of all ranks.

See also

In Spanish: Tropas Nómadas para niños