Stories about Mauritania

Moroccan Hackers Attack Mauritanian Government Sites

A group of hackers calling themselves the “Moroccan Secret Agent” have succeeded in breaching and seizing control [ar] of several Mauritanian governmental websites. The group defaced the websites with slogans insulting the Mauritanian president Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, and his Algerian counterpart, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, calling the two heads of state “enemies...

Mauritanian Police Clamps Down on Black Protest

On May 4, 2014, Mauritanian police broke up  [ar] a massive gathering in Nouakchott. People were commemorating [ar] the return of a group of Mauritanian blacks [ar] from Senegal in 2008 [en] , after being subjected to forced displacement in the aftermath of the bloody events [en] which occurred between 1989 and 1991.  On April...

When Will Impunity End for Slave Traders in Mauritania ?

  30 April 2014

A protest coordinated by several Mauritanian civil society organizations and political parties was held on April 29, 2014 in Nouakchott. The protest was initiatied by members of Haratin tribe who demand more rights and the enforcement of existing laws. This protest marks the first anniversary of the Haratin Manifesto [fr].  The...

A Call for More Religious Tolerance in Mauritania

  6 February 2014

Mohamed Cheikh Ould Mohamed, a 28 year old blacksmith in Nouadhibou (a town 465 km north of Nouakchott, Mauritania), was charged with  apostasy by the penal court for questionning on online forum some of the decisions of the Prophet Muhammad regarding Djihad. Following the charges, Professor Mustapha Ely, author of a dozen books and an international...

Mauritanian Blogger Babbah Weld Abidine Arrested

  10 August 2013

On August 7, Mauritanian authorities arrested [ar] Babbah Weld Abidine, a blogger (editor of Lebjawi News blog) [ar -fr] and  a correspondent in the Region of Tagant for the website “Reporters – Mourasiloun”. Two days before his arrest, Weld Abidine went to the Public Prosecution office to inquire about a rape case...

Mauritania Through a Portuguese Artist's Eyes

  20 May 2013

Portuguese artist Isabel Fiadeiro lives in Nouakchott, Mauritania, where she paints and runs an art gallery. Fiadeiro also sketches from observation, filling her blog Sketching in Mauritania with images of daily life in the West African nation. Global Voices spoke to her about how her art has helped her get to know the country.

The State of Torture in the World in 2013

  10 March 2013

On January 23, 2013, an excerpt from the annual report of l'ACAT-France, A World of Torture 2013, makes a fresh assessment of the state of torture in the world [fr]: “A report called A World of Torture in 2013, assesses torture practices that continue to be alarming, from Pakistan to...

The Conflict in Mali: Who is Fighting Whom, and Why?

Since the bloody conflict in Mali began one year ago, the crisis has evolved in fits and starts, all the while immersed in a historical framework that the mainstream media too often oversimplifies. Here we will try to unpack the complexities of the conflict by putting into context the violent fighting currently engulfing the northern African country.

Mauritania: Workers March 700km for Justice

  25 January 2013

On January 5, a group of illegal or "Journalia" workers (temporary or seasonal), started a long march from the city of Zouerat in order to reach the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott. In total, these workers would have walked 700km in order to protest against the injustice they are being subjected to and the deceit of president Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, who had promised to solve their problems and put and end to their suffering.