Gambiaj.com – (NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania) – Tensions between Mauritania and Mali have escalated again after Nouakchott accused Malian forces of killing several Mauritanian civilians near the border, prompting a diplomatic protest and calls for credible investigations.
In a statement issued on Saturday, March 28, Mauritania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed “deep concern” over what it described as “serious security incidents” that occurred two days earlier in Malian territory close to the shared frontier between the two countries.
According to the statement, Mauritanian authorities have formally identified five victims of a recent killing in Mali as residents of villages in the Hodh el-Gharbi region in southern Mauritania. Nouakchott accused Malian forces of committing repeated abuses against Mauritanian civilians over the past four years and called on Bamako to put an end to such actions.
The Mauritanian government also urged its citizens living near the border to exercise “the greatest vigilance” as tensions continue to mount in the area.
Authorities in Mali have not yet issued an official response to the accusations.
Local sources cited by Mauritanian news outlet Al-Akhbar said the victims were arrested and later killed by the Malian Armed Forces near the town of Yélimané, approximately 70 kilometers from the Mauritanian border.
The frontier between the two countries stretches for more than 2,000 kilometers and includes vast, sparsely monitored areas where militant groups operate.
However, a Malian military source contacted by regional media said the army had been conducting an anti-jihadist operation in a village near the border during the same period, claiming that “terrorists were neutralized.”
The latest incident comes amid a series of disputes between the two neighbors. Mauritania has repeatedly accused Malian forces and allied Russian mercenaries of mistaking Mauritanian civilians for jihadist fighters during security operations in the border region.
Earlier in the week, Nouakchott condemned what it called “repeated attacks” against Mauritanian citizens in Mali following the execution of two Mauritanian shepherds on March 20.
Separately, Mauritanian officials also protested after a Malian military patrol reportedly crossed into villages along the frontier on March 25, in areas where the border is poorly demarcated. The patrol allegedly demanded that the Mauritanian flag be removed from a local school before withdrawing.
Security concerns have intensified in the region following another deadly incident earlier this month in which Malian forces were accused by local sources of killing seven civilians in the border zone shared by Mali, Mauritania, and Senegal. The Malian authorities have not publicly commented on those allegations.
Residents of the Malian commune of Aïté reported that soldiers arrested five traders, dual Mauritanian-Malian nationals, from their shops before detaining two additional Mauritanian merchants at a nearby mining site. Witnesses said the soldiers burned the victims’ goods before taking the seven men away.
Villagers searching for the detainees later discovered their bodies about seven kilometers from the town. According to a relative of one of the victims, the men appeared to have been executed.
Fear spread rapidly following the incident, prompting many residents of Aïté and surrounding villages to flee across the border into Mauritania, which lies only about 10 kilometers away.
Regional observers warn that continued incidents along the volatile frontier could worsen relations between the two countries unless both sides engage in dialogue.
“If we want to avoid the worst, the two parties must sit down and address the root of the issue,” a diplomat from the sub-region said.
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