Mauritania’s Interior and Decentralization Minister Mohamed Ahmed Ould Mohamed Lemine warned on Wednesday his country’s traditional gold miners against trespassing borders for their mining activities, as they “put their lives at risk.”
During the government’s weekly press briefing, the Mauritanian Minister emphasized that “the border areas where these miners operate are sensitive from a security perspective,” highlighting that some miners have already lost their lives there.
The administrative and military authorities in north of Mauritania have conducted several awareness campaigns, urging miners to respect the country’s geographical borders, added Mohamed Lemine.
“While some individuals have complied with this call, others have not,” said the Mauritanian official.
This warning follows a previous statement by the Mauritanian Oil and Mines Minister Nani Ould Chrough previously addressed the death of four gold miners outside the Mauritanian borders during a press conference on January 3rd, asserting “the state’s role in securing the national territory.”
The four gold miners attempting to infiltrate the buffer zone were targeted by a Moroccan airstrike on January 2nd.
To prevent the entry of gold miners and Polisario Front members who engage in terrorist acts on the Kingdom’s soil, Morocco places a strong emphasis on strict border control with Mauritania and along its southern territories.
Recently, the Kingdom has been reinforcing its military presence in the buffer zone by deploying heavy artillery, specifically M110A2, to ensure the area’s security, reports Larzon.
This move is similar to the artillery stationing that took place during the “Touizgui Operation” in 2021, carried out by the Royal Armed Forces (FAR), which involved conducting several operations against Polisario Front targets infiltrating the area.
These measures are highly significant, especially since the separatist Polisario Front targets both civilians and military personnel, posing a threat to United Nations observers, gold miners, and herders in the areas.
On October 29, four explosions shook the city of Smara in Morocco’s Southern Provinces, killing one man and injuring three more.
In mid-December 2023, Polisario militias targeted southern city Smara, specifically an area 6 kilometers from Aoussard’s residential neighborhoods, one day ahead of Moroccan military drills in the area.
(Source : Hespress)