Ali Najab, a decorated Moroccan Air Force veteran and renowned hero of the Moroccan Sahara conflict, has died at 81, according to media reports on Tuesday.
Najab was born in 1943 in Taza or Maghraoua between Morocco’s Rif and Atlas mountains. He came from an Amazigh tribal heritage.
The veteran’s military career took him to elite training institutions worldwide, including San Antonio in Texas, Salon-de-Provence, and Tours in France. By 1978, Najab had earned recognition as a squadron leader piloting the “Northrop F-5A” fighter jet.
On September 10, 1978, Najab’s life changed irrevocably, when Polisario forces shot down his plane, during a mission over Smara amid the Sahara War.
Najab was one of 14 Moroccan pilots held captive by Polisario among 450 prisoners in the Tindouf camps in Algeria. His 25-year imprisonment was marked by unrelenting torture, humiliation, and solitary confinement.
The war hero recounted these grim years in his memoirs, documenting interrogations by Algerian officers and the pressure to denounce Morocco’s monarchy. He recalled one particularly defiant moment in 1979 when he faced Iran’s Foreign Minister, Ali Akbar Velayati.
After refusing to renounce King Hassan II, Najab endured severe punishment, including 11 months of isolation.
Released in 2003, Najab turned his suffering into advocacy. He founded the Moroccan Association of Prisoners of War for Territorial Integrity to champion the rights of other captives.
His organization worked tirelessly to document their ordeals, seek rehabilitation, and push for formal recognition of their sacrifices.