The growing threats in the Sahel pose a major challenge for Algeria and Mauritania, prompting the two countries to strengthen their bilateral military cooperation to avoid risks that could directly affect them.
To address these threats, a high-level Algerian military delegation, led by the Chief of Staff of the Army, Lieutenant General Saïd Chengriha, visited Nouakchott last week.
The Chief of Staff of the Mauritanian Army, Lieutenant General Mokhtar Bellah Chaabane, received his Algerian counterpart and the accompanying delegation. At the end of the meeting, he announced that his country and Algeria were considering conducting joint patrols along their 460-kilometer common border, which is frequently used by criminal and smuggling networks.
During his visit to Nouakchott, Chengriha headed a delegation including military officials, such as the head of intelligence services, Major General Belkaim Hasnat, and the director of central security, Brigadier General Agribi Mohsen.
Shortly after his arrival in the Mauritanian capital, the Algerian military delegation met with President Mohamed Ould Cheikh Al-Ghazouani at the presidential palace.
According to the official Mauritanian news agency, the director of communication of the Mauritanian army staff, Colonel Sayed Mohamed Hadid, stated that the visit of the Algerian delegation “embodies the desire of the armies of the two countries to strengthen the bonds of brotherhood and friendship.”
He added that the two countries are working to “advance the level of bilateral military cooperation and bring new approaches, particularly regarding the two countries’ partnership in the fight against violent extremism and organized crime in the Sahel region.”
The armies of Algeria, Mauritania, Mali, and Niger coordinate efforts to combat terrorism and organized crime in the region as part of a joint operational staff committee created in 2010.
Jihadist organizations are present in many African countries, particularly in the Sahel, and launch frequent attacks on military barracks. In addition, these countries suffer from widespread poverty and political instability.
To address these economic and security challenges, the G5 Sahel, composed of Mauritania, Chad, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali, was created in Nouakchott in 2014. However, the latter three countries withdrew a few years later following coups d’état.
Sahel expert Ahmed Ould Mohamed Al-Mustafa told Al-Arab that Mauritania and Algeria are linked by “strong and diverse relations due to their neighborhood, interests, and shared history.” However, “it is not possible to ignore another perspective that seems urgent and pressing for both parties, namely the recent security developments in the Sahel region in general, and in northern Mali in particular.”
“The violent clashes between the Malian army and the Russian Wagner group on the one hand, and the Azawadi militants on the other, have reached areas close to the borders of the two countries, and therefore require coordination at the military and security levels,” he added.
He also highlighted “the transformation that the Sahel region is undergoing in general,” highlighting new alliances with Russia, as well as the growing economic influence of China.
“In addition to the pressures imposed by the West to counter Russian-Chinese expansion, all of this is pushing Algeria and Mauritania to get closer and coordinate in order to avoid risks that could affect their stability,” he said.
However, each country plays a different role in the region. While Algeria is closer to the Russian-Chinese Eastern alliance, Mauritania has in recent years strengthened its ties with the West, notably with NATO, the United States, and the European Union.
For his part, Mohamed Al-Hafiz Al-Ghabid, a journalist specializing in the Sahel, stresses that coordination between Mauritania and Algeria “is of paramount importance to face the dangerous transformations of organized crime in the region.”
“The crises in Mali and Niger have repercussions in Mauritania and Algeria, which has become evident in recent months, with both countries having welcomed tens of thousands of displaced people due to the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in these countries,” he explained.
Al-Ghabid believes that the visit of the Algerian military delegation to Nouakchott comes in a context of “changing international alliances,” with the region experiencing “a growing Russian-Chinese influence that has so far undermined French and American influence.”
