Mauritania 2023 – Afrique XXI, DW, LifeGate, Le Figaro

This project tried to explore how Mauritania has managed to contain the jihadist threat amidst worsening instability and political uncertainty in neighboring Mali and the broader Sahel region.

The in-depth project has been conducted in the Hodh El Gharbi and Hodh Chargui region along the border with Mali. These desert regions are under pressure from the effects of the climate crisis: poor rains, increasingly high temperatures ( reaching 50 degrees), lack of forage for animals and locust invasions.

Authorities in these territories are concerned about the limitation of vital resources as the population is also increasing due to the arrival of refugees from neighboring Mali fleeing clashes with the Malian armed forces (aided by the Russian mercenaries of Africa Corps) and with jihadist groups.

The journalistic project was carried out along the border following the “Méharistes” of the “Groupement nomade de la Garde nationale mauritanienne”, a special unit tasked with patrolling the desert to raise community awareness and prevent the jihadist threat from spreading further into the Sahel.The reportage depicted the lives of border communities and refugees in the M’berra camp, while also incorporating an investigative element.

In fact, the report also reveals the “dark side” that lends the project its name: in the Hodh El Chargui region and in certain corridors of power in Nouakchott, suspicions arise regarding an alleged agreement known as “moutarakha” between Mauritanian authorities and Al-Qaeda jihadists.