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North Africa Defense: Morocco Gets Surface-to-Air Missiles, Algeria-Mauritania Sign Defense Pact
April 2025 has seen a notable series of military developments across North Africa, where rivalries and competition for influence are adding more stress.From U.S. missile sales to Morocco to new defense agreements between Algeria and Mauritania, the regional defense landscape is worrying but geopolitical competition will likely continue to exacerbate tensions.
Mauritania and Senegal Launch LNG Exports with First Cargo from Grand Tortue Ahmeyim Project
The first shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Grand Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) project, located offshore between Mauritania and Senegal, has been successfully loaded for export, marking a key milestone for both countries as they join the ranks of LNG-exporting nations.
Building a Road to Nowhere? Morocco’s Unfinished Push to Mauritania
Morocco is nearing completion of a 93-kilometer road linking Es-Semara to the Mauritanian border, a project touted as a boost for regional connectivity. However, with no immediate link to Mauritanian infrastructure and no confirmed plans for its extension, the road currently leads to a dead end.
Brief: Fifteen Migrants Found Dead in a Boat off the Coast of Nouadhibou, Mauritania
Mauritanian authorities discovered a boat near Nouadhibou carrying 39 migrants, including nine deceased and ten in critical condition. Survivors, primarily from Senegal and Mali, reported that fifteen migrants died from exhaustion, though not all bodies were found. The deceased were buried by local authorities. Mauritania has become a key transit point for African migrants attempting to reach Europe via the Canary Islands.
Migrations: The heartbreaking death of African migrants in the Atlantic, nearly 4,000 miles away
These 14 people went to the DR, but they did not fly, nor they arrived alive. InfoMigriant says a boat carrying 14 migrants from Senegalese, Mauritania and other African migrants did indeed reach the shores of Rio San Juan, east of the famous resort beach of Sosua in the Dominican Republic, except they were dead, and their bodies were in advanced decomposition. While this event in itself is sad, it happens more often than we know. Most of the time, the deaths occur through drowning. This time, it is remarkable that the boat, a simple canoe, managed to reach the DR. This means that the victims have died of thirst, hunger and despair.
Africa’s Defense Shifting from Western to Russian Influence
There are some 600 US troops left in Niger, whose withdrawal is set to no later than September 2024. Meanwhile the French are expected to continue to withdraw more of their troops from Africa, and we could see the Russians move in.
Mauritania: Sudden customs tax increase at border with Morocco jolts food markets in Mauritania
Households and consumers in Mauritania are experiencing spikes in food prices. A the Nouakchott fruit and vegetable market prices surged over the days, following the sudden increase in customs taxes at the border point of Guerguérat separating Mauritania and...
Mauritania: Christian group released from detention, expelled from Mauritania
Media sources report that 15 Christians leaders and their families who were arrested by Mauritania at the end of November 2023, were released on 18 December. The group was arrested following the release on social media of a video filmed in Mauritania showing a baptism...
Four Mauritanian gold miners were killed last weekend near Gleibat El Foula ($)
Morocco-Mauritania relations: Tensions after killing by drone of Mauritanian civilians
The Moroccan media said the Mauritanian authorities have abruptly increase by 171% the customs duties applied to Moroccan goods entering Mauritania through the border site of El Guerguerat, at the southern tip of the Western Sahara. In its X account (formerly known as...
Sahel: Mauritania sends ex-president Ould Abdelaziz to prison for corruption
A court in Mauritania's capital Nouakchott on Monday sentenced former president Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz to five years in prison for having abused his position to amass an ill-gotten fortune. Aziz, who ruled the pivotal country between North Africa and sub-Saharan...
Sahel: Mauritania urges Mali to rejoin W.African anti-jihadist force
Mauritania's president on Monday urged Mali to rejoin a West African anti-jihadist force and regional grouping known as the G5 Sahel, which it quit last year Mali announced its decision in May 2022, slamming a "loss of autonomy" and "instrumentalisation" within the...
Sahel: Cocaine trafficking surges in the Sahel, as armed groups seek to profit from illicit trade
Annual cocaine seizures in the Sahel surged from 13 kilograms (28 pounds) in 2020 to 863 kilos just two years later as armed groups sought to profit from the illicit trade, the United Nations' drug agency said in its 2023 report. The largest seizures of the drug in...
Sahel: Calm returns to Mauritania after riots sparked by death of man in police custody
The Mauritanian government cut internet access for mobile phones Wednesday, a day after protests over the death of a young man after a brief period in police custody. Despite the loss of internet access for mobile phones, fixed lines were still functional and business...
Mauritania: Ruling party wins legislative and local elections, opposition claims “massive fraud”
Mauritania Elections By Hademine Ould Sadi: The ruling party in Mauritania scored a comfortable victory in last week's legislative and local elections, according to official results on Sunday, a litmus test for the veteran head of state ahead of next year's...
Mauritania: Voting in local and legislative elections begins
El-Khadir Lamine, an 18-year-old student voting for the first time, said he was hoping for "new opportunities for young people". For the first time, voters can choose a list for candidates younger than 35, for whom 11 seats will be automatically attributed in the...
Sahel’s children are facing extreme dangers, desperately need humanitarian help
By Robin Millard: Ten million children in west Africa's central Sahel region are now in "extreme jeopardy" and desperately need humanitarian help due to worsening violence, the United Nations warned Friday. The number of children in dire need of aid in Burkina Faso,...
Sahel: Two prison guards killed during daring escape
Four jihadists have escaped from prison in Mauritania after a shootout left two national guards dead, the interior ministry said Monday, a rare event in a nation spared the insurgency sweeping through the Sahel. The incident, which took place in the capital on Sunday...
Sahel: Russia seeks greater influence over Mauritania, offers support
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday offered support for Mauritania in the fight against jihadism in the Sahel, saying he respected the country's position in the Ukraine war. His Mauritanian counterpart stressed his country's "respect for the rules of...
Mauritania: Trial over corruption of ex-president Abdelaziz begins this week
By Laurent Lozano and Hademine Sadi: Mauritania's ex-president Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz goes on trial on graft charges on Wednesday in an exceptional prosecution of a former African head of state. Abdelaziz, a 66-year-old former general, faces charges of having built up...
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