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Mauritania ALERT: Two journalists detained briefly

Abdallahi Ould Tfagha Moctar and Mohamed Lemine Ould Moustapha, reporters of Sahara Media, a Nouakchott-based independent newswire service were on March 11, 2009 arrested by personnel of Mauritania National Security for allegedly filming the entrance to the Nouakchott civil prison. Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA)’s correspondent reported that the two were detained for several hours in the civil prison and later transferred to the police headquarters. The correspondent said although...

Mauritania cuts ties with Israel, expels Israeli diplomats

In response to the Israeli offensive into the Gaza Strip in December 2008 and the early part of 2009, the African country of Mauritania has cut diplomatic ties with Israel and expelled the Israeli diplomats in the country. They have been ordered to leave the country in no more than 48 hours. As a result of the expulsion, the Israeli government has closed their embassy in Nouakchott and staff could be seen leaving the building. Military personnel were also seen dismantling security features...

Mauritania UPDATE: Court grants bail to detained ex-minister

The Supreme Court in Mauritania on February 3, 2009 granted bail to Isselmou Ould Abdelkader, a former legislator, after he has spent over three months in prison for criticizing the country's military regime. Ould Abdelkader was arrested on October 21, 2008 in Nouakchott by personnel of the National Gendarmerie when the country’s Defence Minister lodged a complaint against him over comments he made on a live debate on National Television. In that debate, Ould Abdelkader, who is also an...

Mauritania Forum Proposes May 30 Election

A special political forum set up by the military rulers of Mauritania is recommending that the country hold presidential elections on May 30.Politicians, civil society representatives and religious leaders have been meeting in the capital, Nouakchott, since last week to develop a strategy for returning the country to democratic rule. A bloodless military coup ousted Mauritania's first democratically elected president in August.The forum proposed May 30 for the presidential poll, with a...

MAURITANIA: Desertification threatens to wipe out livelihoods, communities

NOUAKCHOTT Tuesday, December 02, 2008 (IRIN) - Environmental degradation, responsible for the dangerous displacement of sand dunes in Mauritania, has wiped out homes, livestock and livelihoods throughout the desert country. An October UN study estimated that land degradation costs nearly US$200 million annually in potential revenue losses and health care expenses. UN researchers calculated the value of lost cultivable land, disappearing trees and water sources, along with the health care...

MAURITANIA: Military launches anti-terrorist units amid donor cutbacks

ATAR Friday, November 28, 2008 (IRIN) - Mauritanian army leaders are cautioning donors that have cut military aid after a 6 August coup that the country’s military cannot fight suspected terrorists alone, and that northern communities may pay the price for lack of preparedness. The Algeria-based extremist Islamist group, Al-Qaeda of the Islamic Maghreb, has claimed responsibility for a deadly 14 September military convoy attack outside the northern town of Tourine that killed 11 soldiers and...

MAURITANIA: Thousands of returnees await legal status

BOYINGEL THILLE Wednesday, November 26, 2008 (IRIN) - The Mauritanian government has promised thousands of repatriated citizens waiting for their residency papers for nearly a year that they will receive identity cards by year’s end. “Without papers, I cannot leave this [returnees] camp because I cannot get past the police checkpoints,” said Abdoulaye Samba Sow, chief of one of the 34 tent communities for returnees located in the southern regions of Trarza and Brakna. Sow belongs to one of...

MAURITANIA: Coup members face one-month sanctions ultimatum

DAKAR Monday, October 20, 2008 (IRIN) - Following a meeting between Mauritania’s junta leaders and the European Union in Paris, EU officials have given the military officials one month to show how they will restore constitutional order, or sanctions will take effect. Coup leaders – who have refused to release President Sidi Mohammed Cheikh Ould Abdallahi – and donors are entering their 10th week of a sanctions standoff. At stake is about US$500 million in development and military assistance....

MAURITANIA: Repatriated refugees returning to Senegal

DAKAR Monday, October 20, 2008 (IRIN) - Dozens of young Mauritanians recently repatriated from Senegal are crossing back over into long-time refugee communities because schools in Mauritania are not ready to take them in, according to the youths. Hadry Yaro, 18, returned to Dodel in northern Senegal on 17 October. “There were no classrooms for us [in Mauritania]. It was as if no one expected us to be there. I need to finish school, so I came back alone and am living with my uncle in Dodel.”...

Mauritania: Donors on standby while EU considers next step

One month after setting a deadline for Mauritania's coup leaders to restore constitutional order or face sanctions, the European Union said the junta’s efforts have been “insufficient” and that the EU will examine “appropriate measures,” according to a 20 November statement by France’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.