How Mauritania is fighting jihadism
NOUAKCHOTT: In the middle of the desert, just inside the Mauritanian border, stands a tent. Inside is a VHF radio. If an outsider passes by, the locals operate the device to warn the authorities. The radio is a simple but effective link in a security system which, combined with grassroots work, has helped shield Mauritania from the Sahel’s escalating jihadist peril.
To Mauritania’s east, the death toll in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso has been rising inexorably-but this largely desert country of four million has not experienced an attack in almost nine years. Today, Mauritania takes over the rotating presidency of the G5 Sahel, which coordinates the anti-jihadism fight of five countries in the region. “Mauritania is a player which was able to overcome terrorism in 2011,” said a French source. “We expect a lot from their presidency.” In 2005, Islamist groups expanded in Algeria, a neighbor to the north, and Mauritania began to come under attack.
In 2008, the former head of presidential security, General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, took power by force and a year later was elected president. Any qualms that Western countries had about
his rise to power were put to one side. Given the numbers of Mauritanians in emerging jihadist groups in northern Mali, the sense was “the jihadist threat could spread to Mauritania,” said a French expert, speaking on condition of anonymity.
France and, to a lesser extent, the United States began sending instructors to support anti-terrorist units and strengthen Mauritanian intelligence. The Mauritanian authorities, for their part, began investing in training and retaining soldiers. Military spending increased, providing better and newer equipment, and soldiers’ pay was paid directly into the bank rather than through officers, and soldiers were given social benefits.
Security, hearts and minds
Today, that program to boost military morale and competence has borne fruit, as shown in the tight policing of the border-a notorious weak point in the other Sahel countries. Dozens of checkpoints have been installed on every major highway, and a huge buffer region bordering Mali has been classified a “military zone” barred to civilians. “Any car driving there would be spotted and checked,” said Hassane Kone, researcher at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) think tank in Dakar. The measure has enabled the authorities to nab armed gangs of cannabis traffickers, he said. At the same time, Nouakchott launched a battle of the minds-to deter vulnerable young people from joining the jihadists.