Moderate opposition parties in Mauritania, which are taking part in the political dialogue organized by the regime, have threatened to walk out of the process after government spokesperson tried to impose proposals allowing constitutional change and paving the way for a third term in office for incumbent President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz. Around 700 people […]
Tag: Mauritania
Mauritania: Leading Opposition Movements Reject President’s Call for Inclusive Dialogue
Mauritania’s main opposition parties have boycotted President Ould Abdel Aziz’s call for national inclusive dialogue, which they believe is a covert agenda to maintain the Mauritania President in power after he reaches constitutional term limit. The 10-day dialogue, opened on Thursday, has lost, according to main opposition figures, its credibility as the political parties opposed […]
Mauritania: Private Newspapers Go off to Protest Difficult Work Conditions
Mauritania’s main stream private newspapers have chosen to go off on Wednesday in a move to denounce unbearable work conditions coupled with authorities’ tight grip on private media, reports say. The Wednesday action is undertaken “to protest against the situation of deep crisis that Mauritanian private newspapers are stranded in,” said Sy Mamadou, Chief Editor […]
UN Envoy Fears Return to Outright War in Sahara
The war scenario between Morocco and the Algerian-backed Polisario separatists was at the heart of talks separately held by the UN Secretary General’s Personal Envoy for the Sahara with the Foreign Ministers of Spain and Mauritania. On the backdrop of the cease-fire violations by the Polisario militias in the buffer zone of Guerguarat and the […]
Mauritania: Regime Turned Country into Cash Cow, Anti-Slavery Activist
Leader of the anti-slavery movement IRA (Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement) has slammed President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz’s regime for looting the Mauritanian people, reports say. “Their only realization is illicit enrichment, division of Mauritanians, and ideological, ethnical and religious indoctrination of communities,” Biram Dah Abeid said in an address before members […]
How Morocco’s Guergarat Operation Foiled Algeria’s Plot to Create Refugee Camp in Lagouira
The anti-smuggling operation that Morocco launched to clear the southernmost tip of the Saharan provinces of all sorts of illegal commercial activities had a geopolitical impact in terms of barring the road for Algeria and its allies in Nouakchott from creating a camp where they intended to dislocate some of the population held against their […]
Mauritania-Morocco: End of Tension between Nouakchott & Rabat?
A number of recent developments noticed both in Mauritania and Morocco have heralded normalization of diplomatic ties between the two Maghreb countries following a recent tension in their relations, after a change in Mauritania’s stand vis-à-vis the Polisario Front, which disputes Morocco’s sovereignty over the Western Sahara territory. One strong signal of a thaw in […]
Mauritania: Men of Trust, President Ould Abdelaziz’s Shield
The Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz, in power since 2008, has been unshaken by the opposition for many reasons, but if he still has a tight grip on the country, it is mainly due to the faithfulness of some men of trust. One of those men, says West Africa Newsletter, is Mohamed Ould Ghazouania; Chief […]
Mauritania-Drug Trafficking: Prison Sentence for Sons of Ex-President Upheld
A court in Nouakchott has upheld the prison sentences handed to two sons of former Mauritanian president Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla involved in a drug trafficking case, reports say. Ely Cheikh and Sidi Mohamed Ould Haidalla saw the prison sentences they were handed in June confirmed, their lawyer Moctar Ould Ely told the media on […]
Moroccan Army Steps Up Vigilance to Counter Arms Trafficking on Southern Borders
Following the operation launched by Moroccan authorities to clear the border area with Mauritania of all trafficking and illegal commercial activities, the Royal Armed Forces strengthened their level of vigilance in the southern provinces in light of intelligence reports warning of a potential attempt by the Polisario to smuggle an arms cargo into the Kingdom. […]









