Malian soldiers allegedly held hostage in Mauritania

Tensions at the Mali-Mauritania border look set to escalate once again as the Malian Armed Forces (FAMA) claim that two Malian soldiers were held hostage in Mauritania, according to RFI and agencies on March 16th.

In a March 15th statement, the army claimed that “two FAMA hostages held by armed terrorist groups managed to escape from a refugee camp in Mauritania.”

According to Bamako, the soldiers escaped “thanks to operations conducted by the Malian army along the border with Mauritania and in the Wagadou forest.”

Following the FAMA statement, the Mauritanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed “outrage” and “indignation” at the accusations of cross-border hostage taking.

Nouakchott stated that it rejects “in the strongest possible terms these completely unfounded and deeply offensive accusations .”

Bamako stated that the soldiers had been abducted while on leave on October 9th, 2025, and were allegedly held at a refugee camp that Mauritanian authorities have named as the M’Berra, although FAMA has not confirmed this.

It is unclear if an Islamist group was behind the abductions; however, the al-Qaeda affiliated Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JMIN) is active in the border region.

JNIM is behind the fuel blockade that Mali has experienced since September 2025, where militants exploited Mali’s landlocked status and reliance on fuel imports to block supply routes.

News of the soldiers’ escape comes days after it was reported that Malian and Russian forces had killed seven Malian refugees at the Mauritania-Mali border on March 6th.

According to the CD-DPA, the victims were stopped by a patrol while driving in the Nampala district’s Ahl El Kory area; six people were shot dead, while a seventh had their throat slit.

This is not the first time Malian forces have faced allegations of killing civilians, as Human Rights Watch has accused soldiers, operating alongside Russian mercenaries, of perpetrating human rights abuses, including mass killings and burning of homes.

Mali’s internal strife is not limited to jihadist insurgencies, as Tuareg separatists have waged war against the government since their latest rebellion in 2012.

In April 2025, a Mauritian village was stormed by Malian and Russian forces, who were allegedly pursuing Tuareg rebels over the border.

Tuareg rebels from the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) claimed responsibility for a March 4th attack against Malian forces and Russian auxiliaries near the northern Kidal region, a Tuareg stronghold that the army recaptured in 2023.

RFI and agencies, Maghrebi.org