Moroccan Royal Guard

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Moroccan Royal Guard

الحرس الملكي المغربي
Country|  Morocco
Allegiance| King of Morocco
Branch|  Royal Moroccan Army
Type| Guard of honour
Royal guard
Role| Close protection
Size| 6,000
Part of| Royal Moroccan Armed Forces
Commanders
Commander| General Mimoun Mansouri
Insignia
Flag|

Military unit

The Moroccan Royal Guard (Arabic: الحرس الملكي المغربي) is officially part of the Royal Moroccan Army. However it is under the direct operational control of the Royal Military Household of His Majesty the King. The sole duty of the guard is to provide for the security and safety of the King and royal family of Morocco.

## History

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The Royal Guard traces its origins to the former Black Guard ('Abid al-Bukhari).[citation needed] The 'Abid al-Bukhari was created on the orders of the Alawi sultan Moulay Ismail in 1699.[1][2] It was a military corps of black slaves organized into permanent infantry and cavalry units. The corps was unofficially referred to as the "Black Guard" because its members were recruited from the Haratin, a black people from southern Morocco and/or originally from Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as from other black inhabitants of the region. The name 'Abid al-Bukhari (Arabic: عبيد البوخاري, lit. 'Slaves of al-Būkhārī') came from their practice of swearing their oaths of service upon a copy of the Sahih al-Bukhari, a famous collection of hadiths compiled by Muhammad al-Bukhari.[3]

After Morocco gained its independence in 1956. The Haratines are no longer part of the Royal Guard today.

## Organization

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A member of the Moroccan Royal Guard at the Mausoleum of Mohammed V. Mounted members of the Moroccan Royal Guard at the Mausoleum of Mohammed V. A pair of the Royal Moroccan Guards A Royal Moroccan Guard mounted on a horse White uniformed horse guard White uniformed foot guard at the Rabat Mausoleum. A uniformed Royal Guardsman stands before the Mausoleum of Mohammed V, Rabat, Morocco.

The Guard is currently organized as a Regiment of 6,000 troops as follows;

* 4 Infantry Battalions, each of 25 officers and 1,000 troops.
* 2 Cavalry Squadrons.

## Other Guard units

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The King is always accompanied by units of the Royal Guard whenever he is on Moroccan soil. All members of the Royal Guard wear a red beret. Red full dress uniforms of traditional style (white in summer) are worn by both cavalry and infantry on ceremonial occasions.

The King is also protected by two other units of the Royal Moroccan Army. They are, however, not an official part of the Royal Guard. These are:

* The elite Parachute Brigade headquartered in Rabat (number of troops unknown).
* The Light Security Brigade of 2,000 troops.

## Weapons

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### Rifles

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* SAR-21
* M16A2
* FN FAL
* AK-47
* M4A1

### Submachine guns

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* Heckler & Koch MP5

### Pistols

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* Beretta 92FS

### Machine Guns

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* FN MAG
* AA-52

Heavy machine gun

* M2 Browning
* ZPU-2

### Rocket launchers

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* RPG-7
* RPG-9

### Anti-tank missiles

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* BGM-71 TOW

### Mortars

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* L16 81mm Mortar
* M120 120 mm mortar

### Self-propelled artillery

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* M40 GMC

### Combat vehicles

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* Humvee

## Former commanders

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* General Mohamed Medbouh[4]
* General Abdesalam Sefrioui[5]

## See also

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* Royal guard
* Imperial guard
* National guard
* Military of Morocco
* Republican guard

## References

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1. ^ El Hamel, Chouki (2002). "'Race', Slavery and Islam in Maghribi Mediterranean Thought: The Question of the Haratin in Morocco". The Journal of North African Studies. 7 (3): 29–52. doi:10.1080/13629380208718472. S2CID 219625829 - via Taylor and Francis Online.
2. ^ El Hamel, Chouki (2006). 'Blacks and Slavery in Morocco: The Question of the Haratin at the End of the Seventeenth Century' in Diasporic Africa: A Reader. New York: NYU Press. pp. 177–199. ISBN 978-0814731666.
3. ^ El Hamel, Chouki (2013). Black Morocco: A History of Slavery, Race, and Islam. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-02577-6.
4. ^ Dalle, Ignace (2011-03-09). Hassan II:Entre tradition et absolutisme.
5. ^ Mahjoub Tobji (2006-09-13). Les officiers de Sa Majesté:Les dérives des généraux marocains 1956-2006.

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Moroccan Royal Guard.

* v
* t
* e

Military of Morocco

Leadership|

| Civilian|

* King of Morocco (Supreme Commander and Chief-of-Staff)
* Abdellatif Loudiyi (Minister-Delegate for the Administration of National Defense)

|

Military|

* Major-General Mohammed Berrid (Inspector General of the Royal Armed Forces)

Branches|

|  Royal Moroccan Army|

Commander: Major-General Mohammed Berrid

|

Royal Moroccan Navy|

Commander: Captain Major Mohamed Tahin

Royal Moroccan Air Force|

Commander: Major-General El Abed Bouhamid Alaoui

Royal Moroccan Gendarmerie|

Commander: Major-General Mohamed Haramou

Auxiliary Forces|

Commanders:
Colonel-Major Mustapha Hdioud (southern division), Brigadier General Khaled Jabrane (northern division)

Moroccan Royal Guard|

Commander: Brigade General Abdelaziz Chatar

Military Intelligence|

* Abdelfattah Louarak (Commander of the Third Bureau)
* General Mohamed Maïche (Commander of the Fifth Bureau)

Former commanders|

* Mimoun Mansouri
* Hamidou Laanigri
* Belkhir El Farouk
* Abdelfattah Louarak
* Bouchaib Arroub
* Abdelaziz Bennani
* Abdelhak El Kadiri
* Mohamed Achahbar
* Ahmed Dlimi
* Mohamed Oufkir
* Mohamed Bachir El Bouhali
* Driss Ben Omar
* Benhammou Kettani

Operations and history|

* History
* Moroccan Army of Liberation
* Moroccan Goumier
* Black Guard
* Guich
* Jaysh al-Rifi
* Wars involving Morocco
* Battles involving Morocco
* Morocco in World War II
* Marche Verte

Equipment|

| Land|

* List of equipment of the Royal Moroccan Army

|

Sea|

* List of ships of the Royal Moroccan Navy
* Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah
* Abou El Barakat Al Barbari
* Lieutenant Colonel Errhamani
* Tariq ibn Ziyad
* Commandant Al Khattabi

Air|

* List of aircraft and armament of the Royal Moroccan Air Force

* Category
* Commons

* v
* t
* e

Moroccan security forces

Military|

* Royal Moroccan Armed Forces
* Army
* Navy
* Air Force
* Moroccan Royal Guard
* Royal Moroccan Gendarmerie
* Auxiliary Forces

Law enforcement|

* Ministry of Interior
* Direction Générale de la Sûreté Nationale (DGSN) (national police force)
* Moroccan Auxiliary Forces
* Urban Security Groups (defunct)

Intelligence|

* Direction générale des études et de la documentation (DGED)
* Direction générale de la surveillance du territoire (DGST)
* Deuxième Bureau (Morocco)

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*[t]: Discuss this template
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