Forthassa Gharbia (or Forthassa Rharbia) is a small settlement in western Algeria near the Moroccan

border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...

, to the west of

Aïn Séfra Aïn Séfra ( ar, عين الصفراء, lit. ''yellow spring'') is a municipality in Naâma Province, Algeria. It is the district seat of Aïn Séfra District and it has a population of 47,415, which gives it 11 seats in the PMA. Its postal c ...

. During the French colonial era it was important as a military post. Forthassa Gharbia is a waterhole on the High Plateaux between the Tell and

Saharan Atlas Saharan may refer to: * Someone or something from the Sahara desert * Sahrawi people (also spelled Saharawi), the indigenous people of Western Sahara * Saharan languages The Saharan languages are a small family of languages across parts of the ea ...

ranges. It lies slightly to the west of a line between Teniet el Sassi and the oasis of Ich, and therefore was technically within Moroccan territory, but in 1904 the boundary between Morocco and Algeria had not been delimited in this region, and there was no protest when the French occupied it. The French advance post at Forthassa Gharbia was established in March 1904 by

Hubert Lyautey Louis Hubert Gonzalve Lyautey (17 November 1854 – 27 July 1934) was a French Army general and colonial administrator. After serving in Indochina and Madagascar, he became the first French Resident-General in Morocco from 1912 to 1925. Early in ...

to ensure that the

Beni Guil Beni Guil ( ar, بني غل) is an Arab tribe in Morocco, and are mostly nomadic Bedouins. In the 10th century, after migrating from the Arabian Peninsula, the tribe was given the right of grazing on the land of east Morocco and west Algeria by ...

, a Moroccan tribe, accepted French rule. The post closed the dangerous pass of Jebel Grouz, cutting off the Beni Guil from their allies. By 1904 the pacification had mostly been achieved with little need for fighting. For some time after establishing their protectorate over Morocco the French considered Forthassa Gharbia to be in Morocco, although the post was manned by Algerian troops. The troops collected the ''zekat'' tax on animals from the Beni Guil, a Moroccan tribe, in the name of the Moroccan government, and this money was used to maintain the post. However, eventually the French decided the post was in Algeria, drawing the boundary to the west of it. A disaster occurred near Forthassa in January 1908. A company of legionnaires was marching from the fort at Berguent (Ras-el-Ain) to Forthassa. After several stages, they were caught in a storm with high winds and snow. Unable to erect their tents, they continued through the night. Ten men died of exhaustion. Others were frostbitten, and later their sores became infected by gangrene. By 5 February 37 of the men had died. In February 1923 Governor-General

Théodore Steeg Théodore Steeg () (19 December 1868 – 19 December 1950) was a lawyer and professor of philosophy who became Premier of the French Third Republic. Steeg entered French politics in 1904 as a radical socialist, although his views were generally m ...

of Algeria met in

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

with his counterparts Marshal

of Morocco and

Lucien Saint Lucien Saint (26 April 1867 – 24 February 1938) was a French administrator and politician. Early years Lucien Charles Xavier Saint was born on 26 April 1867 in Évreux, Eure, where his father was a doctor. He obtained a law degree in Paris, an ...

of Tunisia to discuss common problems. They agreed that the western Sahara must be treated as a whole, ignoring arbitrary boundaries. Nomadic migration across borders would be allowed but smuggling would not. A joint Algerian-Moroccan police force would operate from a base at Forthassa Rharbia. In practice, this agreement was not put into force.

References

Citations Sources * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Forthassa Gharbia Populated places in Naâma Province