Mauritania - The African Mirror

Feb

2024

Algeria and Mauritania open border gate to boost trade

THE presidents of Algeria and Mauritania opened a gate at the border of the two North African countries to strengthen bilateral ties and boost trade. The leaders have also agreed to set up a free trade zone and build an 847-kilometre (526-mile) road that will link the Algerian town of Tindouf to Mauritania's Ezouirat. "Hotels, restaurants, taxi drivers and workers in the public sector and housing sectors are happy," Dida Abdewahab, a Tindouf resident, told Reuters. The agreement comes a few days after OPEC member Algeria announced it would invest $442 million in energy projects in Mali, Niger and Libya.…

Jan

2024

By NICK SAID

Abdou’s Midas touch takes Mauritania on history-making run

AFCON 2023

AMIR Abdou may be a little-known name in the world of coaching but has now masterminded two improbable feats in successive Africa Cup of Nations finals after leading tiny Comoros Islands and Mauritania to the knockout rounds. Neither minnow nation had come close before the 51-year-old took charge, but his ability to form a cohesive unit and tap into the countries' respective diasporas to improve their fortunes has made the little-heralded French-born tactician something of a Cup of Nations icon. On both occasions his teams have beaten continental giants to advance – in Cameroon two years ago Comoros defeated Ghana…

Dec

2023

By The African Mirror

Mauritania recall Ba for African Cup of Nations

AFCON 2023

MAURITANIA recalled former Ligue 1 midfielder El-Hadji Ba. It handed a first call-up to teenager Oumar Ngom as coach Amir Abdou unveiled his 27-man squad for next month’s African Cup of Nations finals in the Ivory Coast. The 30-year-old Ba, formerly with Racing Lens and Sunderland, last played for the country 18 months ago but his recent signing for Mauritanian champions FC Nouadhibou earned him an international recall. Ngom, 19, has played in two French second-division games for Pau this season. Mauritania begins their Nations Cup campaign against Burkina Faso in Bouake on January 16. They also take on Algeria…

Dec

2023

By The African Mirror

Mauritania’s former president jailed for five years for corruption

NEWS

MAURITANIA'S former president, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, has been sentenced to five years in prison for money laundering and "illicit enrichment". Abdel Aziz led the West African country for a decade after coming to power in a 2008 coup and was an ally of Western powers fighting Islamist militants in the Sahel region. He had been on trial since January and denied corruption allegations. The court found Abdel Aziz guilty of two of 10 charges late on Monday, following an inquiry into allegations of embezzlement of public property and corruption. One of his lawyers called the ruling "a political verdict…

Mar

2023

By The African Mirror

Mauritania says three fugitives killed after prison break

NEWS

THREE escaped detainees in Mauritania have been killed and one other detained after a shootout with security forces, the Mauritanian authorities said. Earlier this week, the four inmates escaped the central prison in Mauritania's capital, Nouakchott, during a breakout in which two soldiers were killed by gunfire, according to the interior ministry. In a joint statement, the defence and interior ministries said three of the four fugitives were killed when shooting broke out during a search operation conducted by the army and counter-terrorism forces. One officer was killed during the operation, the statement said. The authorities have not shared the identities of…

Mar

2023

By The African Mirror

Mauritania’s $34-billion hydrogen gas deal

NEWS

GERMAN project developer Conjuncta said it signed a memorandum of understanding with Mauritania, Egypt's energy provider Infinity and the United Arab Emirates Masdar for a $34 billion green hydrogen project in the West African country. The project will have a production capacity of up to 8 million tonnes of green hydrogen or other hydrogen-based end products annually, with an electrolyser capacity of up to 10 gigawatts, the company said in a joint statement with the firms involved and the Mauritanian government. "(This project) will have a strong link to Germany both as a technology provider and a potential offtake of…

Mar

2023

By The African Mirror

Two guards killed in gunfire as four break out of Mauritania jail

NEWS

FOUR detainees escaped from the central prison in Mauritania's capital, Nouakchott, during a breakout in which two soldiers were killed in the gunfire, the interior ministry said on Monday, describing the four as "terrorists". The ministry did not identify the escapees or say why they were in prison but it said an exchange of gunfire followed their late Sunday breakout and two national guard members were killed and two were wounded. The national guard had secured the prison and was in pursuit of the four, the ministry said. The arid West African country has been spared the kind of violence…

Sep

2021

By The African Mirror

Mapping the contours of Jihadist groups in the Sahel

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

THE Sahel region, an area covering 3 million sq km, has been a hotbed of Islamic Jihadi groups in recent years. FOLAHANMI AINA, Doctoral Candidate in Leadership Studies, King's College London Today, the region has no fewer than seven insurgent groups scattered in six countries. The area stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea and Indian Ocean and encompasses a dozen countries. These include Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, The Gambia, Guinea, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal. Jihadi groups have taken advantage of a number of underlying conditions, which fuel local grievances across the Sahel. These include endemic…

Aug

2020

By The African Mirror

Around 40 migrants drown in shipwreck off Mauritanian coast

NEWS

A boat carrying around 40 migrants and refugees has sunk off the coast of Mauritania, leaving only one survivor, according to the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR. The perilous sea passage from West Africa to the Canary Islands was once a major route for migrants seeking jobs and a better life in Europe. Attempts became scarcer when Spain stepped up patrols in the mid-2000s, but the route is seeing a fresh surge. "New shipwreck off the coast of Nouadhibou #Mauritania of approximately 40 persons on board, there is one survivor (from Guinea)," tweeted UNHCR special envoy Vincent Cochetel. UNHCR "along…

Aug

2020

By The African Mirror

Mauritania PM and government resign amid corruption probe

NEWS

MAURITANIAN President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani has appointed veteran public administrator Mohamed Ould Bilal as prime minister, hours after the previous government resigned amid an investigation into alleged high-level corruption. Bilal's appointment was announced in a statement from the presidency following the resignation of his predecessor Ismail Ould Cheikh Sidiya and his entire government. The political system in Mauritania has been rocked this year by a parliamentary investigation into alleged corruption in the government of former President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, who stepped down last year after a decade in power. His close ally Ghazouani won the election to succeed him,…