Mauritanian counter-terrorism effort gains ground in Adrar

2009-11-27

Journalists and security experts are lauding government moves to stop terrorists from dominating Mauritania's troubled northern deserts.

By Mohamed Yahya Ould Abdel Wedoud and Mohamed Ould Khattat for Magharebia in Nouakchott – 27/11/09

[Mohammed Ould Khattat] The Mauritanian public approves of an increased government presence in the northern desert region.

Mauritania's measures to bring peace to its restive Adrar region, where terrorists beheaded 11 soldiers last year, are earning positive reviews in the local press and appreciation from the general public.

The army "has recently started to deploy troops to the strongholds of Salafist groups deep inside the desert in order to crack down on them", journalist Lemrabet Ould Mohammed said on November 22nd, adding that the operation seemed to have helped subdue the terrorists.

Mauritanian security forces on November 13th took reporters on their first-ever counter-terrorism operations tour of Adrar, which centred on the Majabat al-Koubra ("Great Crossings") region. Journalists and analysts came away from the tour saying the army appeared to be in control of the region for the first time in four years.

Experts say Adrar, an area known for tourist attractions, has been a key infiltration point for al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) terrorists from Mali. It is also a hotspot for trafficking of people and drugs. Army efforts to deal with such problems have included recruiting Adrar's young people for special anti-terrorism units that scour the region for illegal activity.

"Since the deployment of the anti-terrorism units to the area, AQIM-linked gunmen have stopped their attempts to ... cross onto Mauritanian soil," Major Sayyid Ahmed Ould Amhimed told the touring journalists in Atar.

Mohammed Ould Alb, a relative of a soldier killed by terrorists in in Lemgiti in 2005, said President Mohammed Ould Abdel Aziz is living up to his campaign promises "to be candid with the people [about] developments in hot issues" including terrorism and corruption. Alb called the army's tour for journalists in the northern and largely lawless desert areas an effective manifestation of these promises.

Security expert Baba Ould Mohamed also voiced approval for the counter-terrorism efforts.

"Remember how...General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz blasted the security policy [of his predecessors]?" asked the analyst. "The first steps taken by his government were to equip a number of army units who were given the task of securing the borders.”

Journalist Mohammed Al Moukhtar Ould Mohammed praised efforts to keep reporters and the public apprised of developments in Adrar.

"As journalists, we needed to know the details of what's going on in the Mauritanian desert," he said, adding that previously, the army alone gave accounts of events in the region.

"It seems that the national army has understood the importance of involving the press in the battle they are waging in the heart of the desert, something that will add a new dimension to the so-called 'War on Terror'," Mohammed added.

In connection with the counter-terrorism efforts in the Adrar region, Mauritania is also deeply troubled by the loss of the Paris-Dakar Rally, which was relocated in 2008 after four French tourists were slain in the desert. Eight of the rally's 15 stages previously took place in Mauritania, and the event brought enormous economic rewards.

In response to the tourist deaths, organisers cancelled the 2008 rally a day before it was scheduled to begin. South America hosted the 2009 rally and is expected to be the site of the 2010 race.

"Mauritania must encourage the return of the Paris-Dakar Rally, whose economic benefits for the country are enormous, and wipe away the bad publicity resulting from its listing as a non-recommended destination by France in 2008," said political analyst Harouna Ould Youssouf.