Morocco and Mauritania discuss defence cooperation

As tensions in North Africa continue to mount between Algeria and Morocco, the Kingdom and Mauritania have discussed defence cooperation, according to the pro-Moroccan North Africa Post and agencies on April 7th.

Morocco’s military delegation was led by Inspector General of Royal Armed Forces and Commander of the South Zone, Lt. General Mohamed Berrid.

Berrid and his delegation were greeted at Nouakchott military airport by General Mohamed Ould Fal al-Raïs, Chief of Staff of Mauritania Armed Forces.

According to a Mauritanian army statement, the visit is “part of activities of the joint military commission between the two countries.”

Like Morocco, Mauritania is facing growing tensions from the Polisario Front, an Algerian-backed separatist militia that has rejected the widely supported Moroccan Autonomy Plan for the Western Sahara.

Under this plan, the Western Sahara would be granted limited self-governance under Moroccan sovereignty; it is widely viewed as a realistic solution to a territorial dispute that has persisted since Spanish colonial rule ended in 1975.

The Polisario Front claims to fight for self-determination for the Sahrawi people, who are indigenous to the Western Sahara and largely remain in refugee camps, like the Tindouf camps, situated 75 kilometres from the Mauritanian border.

In February, Nouakchott received a Sahrawi delegation, which accused Algeria and the Polisario Front of attempting to destabilise Mauritania.

Mauritania has been unsettled by the Polisario Front’s presence along its border with Algeria, with an incursion in May 2025 prompting Mauritania to strengthen its northeastern border.

Concerns about growing extremism in the Polisario-controlled camps have also been raised, with a Hezbollah delegation allegedly visiting the Tindouf Camps in 2025; both Hezbollah and the Polisario Front receive Iranian funding.

Tensions at the Mauritanian-Mali border are also mounting, as Malian forces have been accused of killing civilians in recent months and have conducted cross-border raids.

Mali strengthened military ties with Morocco in February; Mali’s Sahel allies, Burkina Faso and Niger, have also backed Moroccan sovereignty over the Western Sahara.

All three Sahel countries would benefit from Morocco’s Atlantic Initiative, which allows landlocked countries to access the Atlantic Ocean via Morocco.

Relations between Algeria and the Sahel were strained in 2025, after Algeria shot down a Malian drone; Mali has also accused Algeria of funding Tuareg separatists.

Niger-Algeria tensions eased in February after talks in Algiers, with Niamey’s Ambassador to Algeria returning to their post on February 12th.

Mali seemed hesitant to follow Niger’s lead in re-establishing ties with its historical ally, with Bamako denying that its Algerian ambassador would return to Algiers.

North Africa Post and agencies, Maghrebi.org