Mauritanian military units have prevented members of the Polisario Front, wearing military uniforms, from crossing into Mauritanian territory along the country’s northern border, local Mauritanian Hespress AR sources said.
The incident occurred after Mauritanian forces detected what were described as suspicious movements near the border area adjacent to southern Morocco. The army intervened immediately to block any breach of the border, the sources said, and reinforced ground surveillance in the area.
As part of heightened security measures, Mauritania deployed an advanced monitoring vehicle in the Lebreika area near the northern frontier, reflecting what authorities describe as a policy of strict border control and continuous vigilance.
The sources said the move fits into Mauritania’s broader security approach, which is based on closely monitoring unusual activity near border zones and taking preventive action to deter infiltration or threats to border security.
According to the same sources, the tightening of security along the northern border follows recent security incidents in the area, including an armed attack this week targeting Mauritanian gold prospectors inside Mauritanian territory.
Their vehicle was later found on the Algerian side of the border, reviving concerns in Nouakchott over the growing movement of armed groups linked to the Tindouf camps through sparsely monitored border areas.
Repeated attacks on prospectors, attempts to move looted vehicles through the buffer zone, and reports that some Polisario elements shift between civilian and military attire to carry out theft and extortion have prompted Mauritanian authorities to adopt a more restrictive security posture, the sources said.
The strategy focuses on preventive border denial and reinforced military deployment aimed at protecting national sovereignty and securing traditional gold prospecting routes, amid what officials describe as a deteriorating security situation along the edges of the buffer zone.
Mauritania’s heightened security measures in the north come in the broader context of developments following the Polisario Front’s declaration in 2020 that it no longer considered itself bound by the 1991 ceasefire agreement, after tensions erupted in the Guerguerat area. Since then, Nouakchott has increased military deployment and intensified border surveillance to prevent potential spillover effects on its border stability.
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