Mauritania: Minister visits Sahel countries to revive ties
(FILES) This file photo taken on May 30, 2018 in Sevare shows a Malian Army soldier standing guard at the entrance of the G5 Sahel, a five-nation (Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Mauritania and Tchad) anti-terror force. The headquarters of the G5 Sahel, came under attack of a suicide bomber who tried to penetrate the base on June 29, 2018, witnesses and a Malian security source said. / AFP PHOTO / SEBASTIEN RIEUSSEC
The Mauritanian minister of defence, Hanena Ould Sidi, has been visiting Sahel countries since the 15th of June in an effort to enhance security and cooperation in the region. According to RFI, the minister has or will visit Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Chad in an effort to enhance regional cooperation in a crisis of terrorism.
These five countries created the G5 Sahel in 2014 to fight terrorism, while Hanena Ould Sidi occupied the role of head of the combined anti-terrorist group. However, Mali left the organisation in 2022, followed by Burkina Faso and Niger the following year, denouncing the inefficiency of the organisation. Simultaneously, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger are all under provisional military governments, or military juntas, with increasing crackdown on human rights, accusations of war crimes, and overall undemocratic governments.
The three countries that have left the G5 organisation have created the Alliance of Sahel States, initially created as a pact of mutual defence in 2023. The alliance was established after the 2023 coup in Niger, after the Economic Community of West African States threatened to militarily intervene. This left Mauritania out of the main defence and military agreements.
Sahel countries are fighting multiple terrorist groups, with the most important one being the Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), a group affiliated with Al Qaeda. Mali also fights against the FLA, a Tuareg group fighting for independence and other factions. Recent developments have led the country to ban motorcycles in rural areas. The country’s defence minister was recently killed as JNIM and the FLA cooperated in a rare simultaneous attack.
Terrorist groups put the region in a very violent and difficult position, leading to authoritarian governments and difficult relations regionally and internationally. Mali has been particulalry on the radar of NGO’s and other human rights organisations as a worrying descent into authoritarianism following the arbitrary arrest of opposition leaders and journalists.
By visiting the Sahel countries, the Mauritanian minister shows a willingness to coordinate and enhance cooperation.
RFI, Maghrebi.org
Want to chase the pulse of North Africa?
Subscribe to receive our FREE weekly PDF magazine
