Mauritania

Energy

Military & Security

Politics

Mauritania's electoral commission announced that President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani had won the first round of the country's June 29 presidential election with 56.12% of votes, against 22.10% for opposition candidate Biram Dah Abeid, Radio France Internationale reported on May 30.

Mauritania: President Ghazouani Reelected, but Opposition Candidate Contests Results

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Israel-Hamas Conflict

Arab leaders began to arrive in Manama, Bahrain, on May 15, for the 33rd Arab League summit that will focus on developing a consensus on the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, The National reported the next day.

MENA: Arab League Summit To Formalize Conditions for Gaza Reconstruction

Mali

Senegal

Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye met with Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani in his first state visit since being inaugurated on April 2, Radio France Internationale reported on April 19.

Senegal: Faye Conducts First Visit to Mauritania, Discusses Energy Projects

Spain

The European Union will grant 210 million euros to Mauritania through the end of 2024 to support the country's efforts in curbing migration to the Canary Islands, Euractiv reported Feb. 9.

Mauritania, Spain, EU: EU and Spain to Provide Over 500 Million Euros to Mauritania to Curb Migration 

Burkina Faso

Chad

Niger

Chad and Mauritania announced that they are paving the way for the dissolution of the G5 Sahel, an alliance that was formed to address development and security issues, particularly terrorism in the Sahel region, Radio France Internationale reported on Dec. 6.

Chad, Mauritania: Nations Announce End of G5 Sahel

Security

The Malian junta announced that it is pulling out of the G5 Sahel force, which is made up of troops from Chad, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Mauritania, Reuters reported May 15.

Mali: Junta Pulls Out of G5 Sahel Force

Supply Chains

Local authorities at the border community of Guerguerat between Morocco and Mauritania announced that commercial and civilian traffic will resume as usual through the border crossing for the first time in two years, Morocco World News reported Nov. 10.

Morocco: Guerguerat Border Crossing Reopened for all Traffic

Morocco has launched a military operation at the southern border of Western Sahara to “deter” against recent attacks by the Algeria-backed Polisario Front and end the group’s weeks-long blockade on trade between Moroccan-controlled areas of the disputed region and neighboring Mauritania, Al Jazeera reported Nov. 13. 

Morocco, Algeria: Rabat Deploys Troops to Western Sahara Border Zone

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France

A Gabonese brigade participates in a training exercise as part of a military program linked to the Franco-Gabonese partnership at the French military base Camp de Gaulle in Libreville on March 19, 2025. 

France's reduced influence in Africa will create space for local and foreign actors to take on greater leadership roles, but their inability to fill the security vacuum left by France's withdrawal would threaten to destabilize the region.

France, Africa and the Future, Part 2: The Age of Multi-Alignment 

A picture released on July 12, 1963, of then-French President Gen. Charles de Gaulle (2L) and Jacques Foccart (L) greeting African, Malagasy and French overseas territories veterans arriving in Paris for French Bastille Day celebrations.

After decades of cultivating tight-knit relationships with francophone African countries, France has effectively ended its forward military presence in West and Central Africa amid shifting political dynamics in both regions, which will weaken its influence on the continent but enable Paris to reallocate resources towards Europe's security.

France, Africa and the Future, Part 1: A New Balance of Power 

Assessments

The Geopolitics of Water

Environment, Science & Technology

Science & Technology

Environmental conditions in the Sahel are likely to worsen due to desertification, rapid population growth and political instability. 

The Geopolitics of Water: The Role of Desertification in Conflict in the Sahel

French soldiers patrol the streets of Gao, Mali, on Dec. 4, 2021. 

France’s updated military posture in the African region focuses on supporting national armies, especially Niger’s. But this is unlikely to offset the impact of Paris’ withdrawal from Mali. 

France’s New Approach to the Sahel: Preparing for Sustained Regional Instability

Sub-Saharan Africa

United States

Europe

French soldiers patrol the Tofa Gala forest in the Sahel region of Africa.

The Difficulties of North African Reform

The Jihadist Wars

Escalating violence risks forcing France and its allies to rethink their counterterrorism efforts in the vast African warzone, as the question of whether foreign involvement can even improve the crumbling situation looms ever larger.

The West Offers Little Reprieve to the Sahel's Jihadist Battle

Even after it receives the necessary funding, the G5 Sahel Force still has hills to climb. 

The multinational Group of Five Sahel Force is closer to reaching its funding goals, but it still has a long way to go and more obstacles to overcome.

In the Sahel, a Counterterrorism Force Fights for More Than Funding

Snapshots

African and Western governments are augmenting their security efforts against an expanding militant presence in Africa, but sustaining military operations in the most remote regions has proved a daunting task. 

Niger: Armed Drones Add to Struggling Counterterrorism Efforts

The G5 Sahel Force will not completely eliminate France's security role in the region anytime soon.

Mali: Africa's Newest Fighting Force Battles for Funding

Though branches of the Islamic State tend to garner the most publicity, the greater threat to military forces, aid workers, civilians and citizens of the Sahel comes from another military group: Jamaat Nusrat al Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM).

A recent terrorist attack drew Western media attention to Africa's Sahel region, but the incident offers only a small glimpse into the region's bigger problems with Islamist militancy.

The Surprising Suspects Behind an Islamist Ambush

The Suitors of Sub-Saharan Africa

The continent's Sahel region has long relied on the French military to support stabilization efforts. But with the creation of the G5 Sahel Force, Paris is hoping to slowly pass the baton to the African countries themselves.



 Has France Found an African Solution to an African Problem?

There's No Easy Way Out of Africa for French Forces

France may want to reduce its military presence in Africa's Sahel region in exchange for more economic engagement, but doing so will prove difficult.

Gambia

Old Leaders in a New Africa

So far, the incoming forces have met little resistance on their way to the country's capital.

Gambia: Senegalese, Nigerian Troops Invade To Unseat President

The Islamic Republic of Mauritania is a West African country in the semiarid Sahel. It faces the Atlantic Ocean and is bordered by Senegal to the southwest, Mali to the southeast and east, Algeria to the northeast and the disputed Western Sahara to the northwest.    The country has an ancient past as part of the western trans-Saharan trade route and owes much of its social and cultural makeup to the Arab conquests of North Africa. The colonization of north and west Africa, mainly by France in the 19th and 20th centuries, also profoundly affected the large, sparsely populated territory.    Today, Mauritania is a weak country. For years, it has struggled with political crises among the elites, including several coups and attempted coups. State authority remains uneven outside the capital of Nouakchott, as regional and local elites often bargain for power with the country's political and military elites. Violent militant groups sometimes use its ungoverned spaces to the east and northeast for trafficking and travel.    For years, the country has had fragile economic growth, but it is now seeing an uptick in interest from international energy companies because of the proven natural gas and oil deposits off its coast. This has the potential to increase income for the cash-strapped government. How the elites manage any windfall will help determine the country's future.

SITUATION REPORTS

Mauritania: President Ghazouani Reelected, but Opposition Candidate Contests Results

MENA: Arab League Summit To Formalize Conditions for Gaza Reconstruction

Senegal: Faye Conducts First Visit to Mauritania, Discusses Energy Projects

Mauritania, Spain, EU: EU and Spain to Provide Over 500 Million Euros to Mauritania to Curb Migration

Chad, Mauritania: Nations Announce End of G5 Sahel

Mali: Junta Pulls Out of G5 Sahel Force

Morocco: Guerguerat Border Crossing Reopened for all Traffic

Morocco, Algeria: Rabat Deploys Troops to Western Sahara Border Zone

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