Kidnapping, killing and mercenaries What is happening between Mauritania and Mali?

Mauritanian-Malian relations reached their peak of tension with Bamako's decision to close its western border with the Arab state, after Nouakchott's great protest against the targeting of a number of its citizens by kidnapping and killing inside Malian lands.

The Mauritanian-Malian relations have been living on a hot slate for nearly a month, after the killing and kidnapping of Mauritanian citizens inside the territory of Mali. Where Nouakchott rose up, protesting against the reality, and the two countries set up a commission of inquiry that did not reach any result. While international reports attributed that crime to the Russian Wagner mercenaries.

Since then, tensions between the two countries have not subsided, ending with Bamako's decision to close its western border with the Arab state. On the other hand, observers see in these conditions a new establishment of Mali-Mauritanian relations, based on hostility and tension, which negatively affects civilians residing between the borders.

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On March 7, Mauritanian reports spoke of the loss of about thirty Mauritanian citizens after crossing the Malian border. Sources from the people of the region said that the missing were killed by the Malian army and the Russian Wagner Group.

While this was not the first time that Mauritanian civilians were attacked inside the territory of Bamako. Even before that, last January, a group of 6 Mauritanian civilians were confronted by a patrol of the Malian army and the Russian Wagner, in the "Sheikh Ahmed" financial district, where two of them were seriously injured. She confirmed that Wagner's gunmen took the initiative to shoot the Mauritanians, before they stopped doing so after discovering their identity.

Nouakchott summoned its Malian ambassador to express its protest against what happened, and the Mauritanian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it had informed the Malian ambassador, "a strong protest against the recurring recent criminal acts carried out by Malian regular forces, on Malian soil, against our innocent and defenseless citizens." ". The ministry indicated that, despite the assurances issued by the financial authorities, the level of response of financial officials to their Mauritanian counterparts remained below par.

In the same context, a Malian government delegation headed by Foreign Minister Abdallah Job visited Mauritania on 11 and 12 of the same month. A statement issued at the conclusion of the visit said that it was decided to form a "temporary joint committee to uncover the facts, tasked with shedding light on recent events (the disappearance of Mauritanians in Mali), and to carry out its mission as soon as possible."

That joint investigation committee has not yet issued its conclusions about the crime. While a Human Rights Watch report stated that a person, who was detained in the Diabaly camp at the beginning of this March, said that he "saw soldiers taking about thirty men out of their cell at night, their arms and legs broken, before putting them in trucks." Subsequently, at least 35 bodies were discovered near the village of Dangoire Wotoro, and it is likely that among them were Mauritanian citizens.

The Malian Ministry of Interior announced that it had decided to close the western border with Mauritania, and said in a statement: "In order to preserve the distinguished relations and good-neighbourliness between Mauritania and Mali, and to protect the Mauritanian and Malian citizens, the Malian authorities decided to completely prevent the movement of civilians in the Ouagadou and Gringali forests, where they are taking place. Military operation (Maleko)."

What is happening in Mauritanian-financial relations?

The western border region of Mali, precisely at the level of the Ouagadou Forest, which extends into Mauritanian territory, is witnessing a joint military operation between the Malian army and the Wagner Group to pursue the armed group. In light of this situation, Mauritanian journalist Ahmed Gedo concludes that "analyzing the Mauritanian financial scene is difficult in the absence of accurate data on what is happening on the ground."

In his interview with TRT Arabic, Gedo added that "Mauritania's dealings with the financial file had to be very careful, especially since Mali is a fragile and failed state in a nutshell, and everything that happens in it affects Mauritania," due to the two countries' "strong popular and geographical ties" Where the population is cohesive and their relationship is intertwined like the intertwining of geography, the people of the Mauritanian east are linked to various relations with the Malians, the most important of which is the economic aspect.

However, the recent developments in Mali, and the economic blockade and diplomatic isolation imposed on the ruling military junta there, made Mauritania the only outlet for them. This "put Mauritania in embarrassment," says the Mauritanian journalist, "in terms of what Mali represents to it as a strategic and social depth, and in terms of its relations with the West African Economic Community, as well as France."

Regarding the kidnappings and killings of Mauritanian citizens in Mali, the spokesman added: "It seems that Mauritania did not find that it could besiege Mali, but these events disturbed the Mauritanian people and forced the Mauritanian government to express its discomfort, which confused the relations between the two neighboring countries."

Gedo concludes by saying that "these incidents are likely to happen again, according to some, because the presence of Mauritanians in Mali cannot be stopped and has what is necessary." Mali is in danger.” This is in addition to “the presence of extremist movements in the Malian state that control the land and other movements of the population, as the central government in the country controls only a few of them.”