2023-08-17 20:00:15
Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani (center) with Omar Touray, President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission and Nigerian Foreign Minister Adamu Ibrahim Lamuwa on August 10, 2023 in Abuja. KOLA SULAIMON / AFP
Going down one path without giving up the other requires a certain sense of diplomacy. After the coup in Niger, the Islamic Republic of Mauritania first denounced the coup by General Abdourahamane Tiani, former head of the presidential guard. In a press release published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on July 26, the very day of the putsch that overthrew Mohamed Bazoum, the Mauritanian government said it was following “with great concern the development of the situation in this brotherly country” et « renew its absolute rejection of unconstitutional changes”.
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This position surprised the international community. This is the first time that Mauritania, which has never officially taken a position on the fate of Malian Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta (overthrown in 2020), Guinean Alpha Condé (in 2021) or Burkinabé Roch Marc Christian Kaboré (in 2022 ), openly condemns a coup. “Mauritania has always kept a very discreet and very measured attitude, explains Alain Antil, responsible for monitoring sub-Saharan Africa at the French Institute for International Relations (IFRI). It never appears on the front line and favors the diplomatic route. »
“She made this time a condemnation in principle, adds a North African observer. Because the country probably holds the record in the sub-region for putschs and the Mauritanian president himself participated in the last two in his country, in 2005 and 2008, before being democratically elected in 2019.
A country spared from jihadism
Was the communiqué calling for the return to constitutional order in Niger dictated by the fear of a regional contagion of coups? Mohamed Ould Ghazouani is currently the last democratically elected president of the G5 Sahel, which includes, alongside Mauritania, Chad, Niger and Burkina Faso (Mali having excluded itself). According to several sources, security has been reinforced around the Mauritanian head of state since July 26.
“As a former head of intelligence and then a former chief of staff, President Ghazouani has a good knowledge of the mysteries of national defence, explains Alain Antil. For a long time, the army has been at the center of concerns: salaries have recently been increased and training abroad has been offered to officers. » Mauritania can also congratulate itself on having become a safe country. While Niger – where at least 17 soldiers were killed in a terrorist ambush on Tuesday – Mali and Burkina Faso are regularly hit by jihadist attacks, it has not seen any offensive on its territory since 2011.
Since the coup in Niger, the Mauritanian president has been encouraged several times by his peers to get more involved in this new Sahelian crisis. Mauritania has not been part of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) since 1998. In Abuja, where Mohamed Ould Ghazouani was present at the ECOWAS meeting on August 9 as current president of the G5 Sahel, “He received a strong request from Macky Sall [président du Sénégal favorable à une intervention] to weigh down with all its weight, says a close friend of the Mauritanian presidency. He also received the visit of an influential Mauritanian Tuareg in the Sahel, adviser in particular to President Bazoum, who tried to convince him to adhere to the idea of a military intervention. But Mr. Ghazouani’s position remained the same: Nouakchott will not support the fallen regime beyond a press release, even if he is a friend of Mohamed Bazoum. »
The participation of Mauritanian soldiers in a possible intervention alongside ECOWAS, and while the chiefs of staff of the West African armies are meeting in Ghana on Thursday August 16 and Friday August 17 to discuss the modalities, is not on today’s agenda.
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Same position regarding the heavy economic and financial sanctions imposed on Niamey: Nouakchott refused to align itself with the position of ECOWAS. As when a blockade was imposed on Mali, Mauritania refused to close its border, while its port is one of the major trade routes for Bamako. Mohamed Ould Ghazouani is also wary of the dissatisfaction of the Malian junta, which assured the Nigerien putschists of their solidarity. “Mauritania does not want to alienate the Malian junta”, we say to the presidency. She no longer wants to risk tarnishing her relations with Niger.
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