Amid the rapid transformations occurring in the Sahel region of Africa across security, military, and political levels, the border area between Mauritania and Mali has become one of the most troubled hotspots due to multiple security threats and the varying positions and attitudes of both governments. Although the wave of unrest in this border region began in 2021, the recent response has represented a notable change, as Mauritania opted for a militarized approach by showcasing its advancements in military capacity and declaring its complete readiness for any potential escalation.
Rising Tensions:
The tensions witnessed in the border region between Mauritania and Mali in April 2024 were not new phenomena in the relationship between the two neighboring states; they followed an accelerated decline in relations that began after the change of power in Mali in August 2020, developing through three main phases:
Increasing Divergence Between Mauritania and Mali’s Approaches:
Since the outbreak of terrorism in the Sahel region in 2012, the alliance between the countries of the region—extending from Chad in the east through Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, and reaching Mauritania—has been the most significant mechanism for confronting growing cross-border security challenges. This eventually led to the establishment of an institutional umbrella for this alliance called the “G5 Sahel” (Group of Five Sahel States), with French efforts in coordination and support. However, security and political developments about a decade later pushed towards diverging approaches and visions among the five countries, ultimately resulting in the disintegration of this alliance. The coup in Mali in August 2020 marked the starting point for this transformation, as its impact extended beyond the transfer of power to a military rule and the spread of coup models to Burkina Faso and Niger. The most significant reflection of this was the shift in foreign policy towards opening up to Russia and ending military cooperation with France and the United States. During the time when Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso underwent these transformations, Mauritania experienced a contrasting period of stability regarding both internal and foreign policies, following the successful peaceful transition of power through the 2019 elections that ended President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz’s rule and ushered in President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani’s presidency. Ghazouani viewed the strengthening of his military alliance with traditional allies from NATO as a primary means of maintaining his country’s security amid a highly unstable regional environment.
The First Wave of Border Tensions (2021-2022): Against the backdrop of Mali’s unstable security situation, particularly with its strategic shift in external support for counter-terrorism operations, the shared border between Mali and Mauritania became one of the most troubled areas in the Sahel region. Since late 2021, Malian forces in the western areas near the Mauritanian border faced a rising wave of terrorist attacks, with the most notable resulting in seven deaths in December of that year. Fearing the region could become a new hub for terrorist activity, the Malian armed forces launched a campaign to pursue terrorist elements, crossing the international border into Mauritania in January 2022 and reaching the Adel Bagrou area, leading to clashes that resulted in the deaths of seven Mauritanian civilians. Amid the widening divergence in views and positions between the two governments, the Mauritanian government escalated politically by dispatching a high-level delegation to Bamako, comprising several political and security officials, to immediately agree on mechanisms for controlling and managing the shared border. However, the fluid security situation across northern Mali resulted in repeated incidents of kidnapping and killing civilians in the border area of Bir El Atay. This prompted presidential pressure from Mauritania, leading to a joint investigation into the incident and Mali sending a high-level delegation to Nouakchott to agree on security arrangements for managing joint patrols and border monitoring.
The Second Wave of Border Tensions (2023-2024):
After a few months of relative calm, January 2023 witnessed a new incident when seven Mauritanian herders crossing the border area between the two countries were killed by the Malian army, igniting protests in the border area of Adel Bagrou. This was followed by the dispatch of a Mauritanian ministerial delegation to Bamako and Mali’s official denial of responsibility by its armed forces for the incident. However, in March 2023, a similar incident occurred when several Mauritanian civilians were killed in Mali, prompting the authorities in Nouakchott to issue a formal protest by summoning the Malian ambassador and accusing the Malian armed forces of targeting Mauritanian civilians. In early April 2024, another similar incident was reported, with reports of Malian military elements killing several Mauritanian civilians in the villages of Medallah and Fassala, located within Mauritania’s borders. The crisis was further complicated by its connection to a joint military campaign being carried out by the Malian armed forces alongside Russian Wagner Group elements, prompting Mali to attempt to contain the crisis through a call from transitional President Assimi Goita to Mauritanian President Ghazouani and the sending of an expanded delegation that included the ministers of defense and foreign affairs to Nouakchott. The April 2024 crisis marked a turning point in the bilateral relations between Mauritania and Mali, triggering a series of escalation responses, starting with a decision from the Mauritanian government to halt the entry of Malian civilians into Mauritania without prior permits, disrupting the normal movement of pastoral groups and traders across the border that had previously occurred easily. In contrast, the growing hostile sentiments in Mali obstructed Mauritanian trucks that had entered the country for trade, leading to another summons from the Mauritanian Foreign Ministry to the Malian ambassador to hold Bamako responsible for this escalation. Subsequently, Mauritania sent its Minister of Defense and Director of Foreign Intelligence to Bamako to meet with President Goita to discuss ways to de-escalate the situation.
Militarization of the Response:
With repeated failures in meetings between the leaders of the two countries following consecutive attacks, Mauritania deemed it necessary to adopt a markedly harsher response. The Mauritanian reaction to the April 2024 crisis clearly indicated the use of military capabilities as a deterrent tool, showcasing numerous aspects of Mauritania’s growing military capabilities on one hand and focusing on the eastern border areas with Mali on the other.
In early May, the Mauritanian government spokesperson announced that the shared border with Mali was experiencing an unstable situation, emphasizing the complete readiness of the Mauritanian armed forces to defend the homeland and warning any party against infringing on its territory. On May 4, the Mauritanian armed forces began conducting extensive military maneuvers, the largest of their kind in the Hodh El Chargui region, involving air and artillery forces, launched from the military base in the city of Nema, the largest city in eastern Mauritania. The maneuvers also saw the participation of the ministers of defense and interior, along with the chief of staff of the Mauritanian army.
On June 10, the Mauritanian gendarmerie conducted an extensive maneuver involving more than 1,500 personnel using 200 military vehicles. The maneuver took place in both the capital Nouakchott and the important coastal city of Nouadhibou, as well as covering the southern regions up to the Kobni area near the Mali border. The gendarmerie’s maneuver attracted significant attention, with participation from the Minister of Defense and military leaders, including the chief of staff of the National Guard and the chief of staff of the National Gendarmerie.
In parallel with these successive maneuvers, the Mauritanian presidency announced, in a statement from the media office of the presidency, that the Mauritanian armed forces now possess, for the first time, drones that allow them to meet the evolving requirements in the field of armament, following President Ghazouani’s visit to a military base to inspect developments in armament and military readiness. The statement did not provide any details regarding these Mauritanian drones in terms of type, number, or source.
Multiple Motivations:
Several factors drove Mauritania to adopt a military approach in responding to the latest wave of unrest along its borders with Mali. These factors included variables related to Mauritania’s military alliances with international powers, developments in the regional arms race, and, finally, changes in the strategic direction of Mauritania’s foreign policy, as follows:
Utilizing Strong Relations with NATO:
Since Mauritania’s invitation to participate in the NATO summit in June 2022, the relationship between the two sides has rapidly developed. With the continuous fall of allied governments in the Sahel region and increasing indicators of Russian military presence in the area, Mauritania emerged as a key partner, necessitating NATO to develop relations with it swiftly. The alliance’s summit in 2022 approved a package of security and defense assistance for Nouakchott, aimed at building and improving capabilities to address various security threats. In June 2023, General Dah Sidy Mohamed El-Ghaib, commander of the Mauritanian Joint Military Academy, visited NATO’s headquarters in Brussels to discuss pathways for advancing cooperation between the two sides. In March 2024, Mauritanian Defense Minister Hanena Ould Sidi received a NATO military delegation led by the alliance’s military committee chair, Admiral Robert Bauer, to discuss ways to continue and enhance relations between the two parties. This was followed by a meeting between the Mauritanian Defense Minister and NATO’s Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana in May, after the final report by independent experts on the alliance’s southern neighborhood highlighted the importance of continuing the cooperation between the two parties. The changing dynamics of international presence in Sahel countries cannot be overlooked as an explanatory factor for the growing relations between NATO and Mauritania, which has become a major focal point for the alliance in the region, especially after Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger successively shifted towards alliances with Russia. This situation has made the relationship with Mauritania a cornerstone of NATO’s strategy to maintain its ability to respond to evolving security and military developments in this turbulent region.
Leveraging Closeness with China: Relations between Mauritania and China have seen significant developments in recent years. President Ghazouani met with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping during their participation in the China-Arab summit held in Riyadh in December 2022, before Ghazouani visited Beijing in July 2023. The two countries signed agreements for cooperation in agriculture, fisheries, and green energy, integrating Mauritania into China’s debt relief program for several African countries. Although Mauritania has not released any images of its new drones recently announced, many sources suggest they are of Chinese origin, reflecting the growing closeness between the two countries. Footage from President Ghazouani’s tour of a military base revealed that Mauritania possesses 20 Chinese-made WMA301 armored assault vehicles equipped with a 105 mm cannon, along with eight Chinese-made short-range air defense systems of the Yitian-L model towed by Dongfeng armored vehicles.
Keeping Up with the Regional Arms Race in Drones:
The use of drones has become a field of competition between Mauritania and its neighboring countries due to the effectiveness of drones in addressing security challenges in a region characterized by vast desert landscapes. In recent years, several neighboring countries have made significant advances in drone technology, compelling Mauritania to keep pace with this development. For instance, in March 2024, sources revealed that Algeria was nearing completion of a deal to purchase Chinese-made WJ-700 Falcon drones, following a previous deal the year before for Chinese-made Wing Loong 2 drones. Mali also received two batches of Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drones in March 2023 and January 2024. As a result, Mauritania found itself in a position that required it to acquire and operate drones to keep up with the advancements made by its neighboring countries.
Aspiring to Become the “Third Pole” in North Africa:
Mauritania represents a meeting point between two contrasting strategic circles. On one hand, it belongs to the North African circle due to its coastal access to the Atlantic and its human and cultural composition. However, it faces constraints from the presence of two competing poles, Algeria and Morocco, which traditionally dominate this region in terms of population weight and economic and military capabilities. On the other hand, Mauritania forms the western border of the Sahel region, which extends from the Darfur region of Sudan in the east, passing through Chad, Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso. Currently, Mauritania’s policy reflects a desire to capitalize on this situation by investing in its relatively favorable position compared to Sahel countries to enhance its overall capabilities, gradually positioning itself to become the “third pole” in North Africa. This approach coincides with several developments, notably the positive openness of various international powers towards Nouakchott and the emergence of promising economic prospects in the fields of oil and gas exploration and commercial maritime ports. Additionally, Mauritania has succeeded in overcoming its chronic political challenges since independence by achieving a peaceful transition of power through the electoral process.
In conclusion, while the recent border tensions did not initiate Mauritania’s shift towards prioritizing military capacity building and development, they have revealed the significant interest of Mauritania in military affairs as a necessary tool to confront internal and external security challenges, as well as being an active element in enhancing its regional standing in both the Sahel and North Africa.
