A two year-old Malian child is loaded into the back of an ambulance. He’s suffering from cerebral malaria. Disease and malnutrition have ravaged the population of the Mberra refugee camp. Tens of thousands of Malians — mostly ethnic Tuaregs — fled Mali for neighboring Mauritania to escape the violence of a coup lead by separatists and jihadists. Mauritania is struggling to deal with instability and terrorism on its borders.
The desert nation of Mauritania covers a large section of the Maghreb and Sahel regions of North Africa. It has a long history of volatility. Since it received independence from France in 1960, the government has been overthrown by four military coups, the most recent in 2008. All of this has made Mauritania an ideal safe haven for terrorism, especially al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
“Over the past decade, Mauritania has been a rear base for Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, a pool for militant recruitment and a target of attacks on the French Embassy, foreign tourists and aid workers,” reports The New York Times.
Northern Mali, which shares a border with Mauritania more than 600 miles long, was splintered by civil war when Islamic militants and separatists took control of the region. The French army retook the captured area in January and AQIM retreated into the deserts of Libya and Mauritania.
Events in Mali have prompted the new Mauritanian government to take threats of terrorism within its borders very seriously. President Mohammed Ould Abdel Aziz has bolstered the nation’s military might and pushed through a series of laws to help them find and arrest extremists.
“Mauritania has made significant efforts to secure its borders to make its territory safer and safeguard the country’s stability,” Foreign Minister Hamadi Ould Hamadi told a press conference announcing that five jihadists had been arrested trying to cross the border. “The measures taken by Mauritania to strictly control its borders are the best assistance it can give to its neighbor Mali.”
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace notes that Islamist political parties have been fixtures in the Mauritanian government for decades. However, they are largely moderate and support both democracy and the fight to stem the tide of terror.
The U.S. works closely with the Mauritanian military, which it sees as one of its principle allies in the Maghreb. While many have applauded Mauritania’s scaled-up efforts to combat terrorism, others have questioned its methods. Humanitarian organizations have accused authorities of torturing suspects. The border with Mali is still porous and many Malian terrorists share ethnic links with groups in Mauritania. The country also has the dubious distinction of having the world’s largest percentage of people in slavery.
Whether Mauritania is successful in preventing a full-scale civil war with extremists is still a matter of debate. For now, the country has been spared the violence that has ripped its neighbors apart and its counterterrorism efforts will continue.
“Terrorism is a real problem here,” Aziz told the BBC News. “What we can guarantee is that we will not spare any effort to eradicate this evil.”
Sources:
BBC News: Mali refugees seek exit from Mauritania camp life. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24329810
Mauritania profile – Timeline. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13882166
How real is Mauritania’s terror threat? http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7581082.stm
The New York Times: Fighting terrorism in Mauritania even if it means torture. http://latitude.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/07/fighting-terrorism-in-mauritania-even-it-means-torture/?_r=0
The Guardian: Mali’s fight with militants is far from over. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/17/mali-fights-militants-far-from-over
Maghrebia: Mauritania arrests Mali terrorists. http://magharebia.com/en_GB/articles/awi/features/2013/03/19/feature-03
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: Mauritania’s Islamists. http://carnegieendowment.org/2012/03/01/mauritania-s-islamists/9ziy#
Reuters: U.S. transfers suspected senior al Qaeda member to Mauritania. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/01/us-mauritania-us-qaeda-idUSBRE9500ER20130601
Al-Monitor: Mauritania struggles to fight terror. http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/02/mauritania-intensifies-security-measures.html
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