Mauritanian herders killed near Mali-Mauritania border

Tensions between Bamako and Nouakchott look set to escalate once again amid news of two Mauritanian herders being killed in the border region on March 20th, according to RFI and agencies on March 23rd.

Although the circumstances surrounding the deaths of the Mauritanian herders, along with a Malian herder, remain unclear, these reports come at a time when tensions in the border region are rising.

On March 15th, it was reported that Malian soldiers who were held hostage in Mauritania had escaped “thanks to operations conducted by the Malian army along the border with Mauritania and in the Wagadou forest.”

However, subsequent RFI reporting found the escape claims were fabricated, with the captives being released by their jihadist captors in exchange for ransom.

The killings of the herders occurred in the Kayes region, where Islamist groups like the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) are active.

Malian forces are accused of executing seven civilians in the border area with Mauritania and Senegal on February 26th.

On March 13th, Malian forces executed at least eight people in the Kayes region’s Yélimané district, with the bodies being discovered charred, abandoned in the bush and with their eyes blindfolded.

Local sources said the victims were from the Fulani community, which faces persecution throughout the Sahel over alleged jihadist ties.

Similarly, seven people were killed by a Malian and Russian patrol as they travelled to Mali from the Fassala border post on March 6th.

Fassala has been the site of escalating tensions between the countries, with Malian and Russian forces storming a village in April 2025 in pursuit of Tuareg separatists.

Malian forces and Russian mercenaries have previously been accused of human rights violations, including killings of civilians and sexual violence.

A CD-DPA report found that 553 people were killed in northern and central Mali in 2025, with 374 incidents reported where Malian and Russian forces were implicated.

The presence of Russian mercenaries throughout the Sahel is controversial, but the junta-led governments of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have increasingly turned to Moscow to counter rising Islamist terrorism.

JNIM has imposed a fuel blockade on Mali since September 2025 by exploiting Mali’s landlocked status and reliance on fuel imports in an attempt to destabilise the junta and establish an Islamic State.

Internal strife tied to jihadist insurgencies and Tuareg separatists has led Mali’s junta to seek Russian support to maintain stability.

RFI and agencies, Maghrebi.org