Guerguerat is a small village located on the southern coast of the disputed Western Sahara, along the road leading to Mauritania, some 380 kilometres (240 mi) north of Nouakchott, in a buffer zone patrolled by a United Nations peacekeeping force,[1] It had witnessed tension between the Algerian-backed Polisario Front and Morocco as recently as early 2017. The Front have been protesting the activities taking place in the border area, which the Moroccans regard as vital to trade with sub-Saharan Africa.[5] Tensions yet again deepened between the Polisario Front and Morocco in mid-October, with the latter accusing the other of infiltrating the buffer zone and "carrying out acts of banditry" in Guerguerat.[6] In early November, around 200 Moroccan truck drivers appealed to Moroccan and Mauritanian authorities for help, saying they were stranded on the Mauritanian side of the border near Guerguerat. The drivers said that they were stuck on the Mauritanian side of the border near the village, without access to drinking water, food, shelter or medicine, with some suffering from chronic illnesses.[7] On 8 November, Polisario Front authorities stated that the Morocco was deploying a large number of police and other security forces near Guerguerat.[8] On 12 November, Mauritanian forces reinforced their positions along border Polisario Front-controlled territories bordering Mauritania.[9]