Like other Maghreb countries, Mauritania is facing security challenges as part of its fight against terrorism. Mauritania’s approach to fighting al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) requires better control of the situation, especially since the hostilities in neighboring Mali began. According to the Mauritanian Defense Ministry, Mauritania has been able to “dismantle many terrorist sleeper cells” and has “managed to thwart terrorist operations to destabilize the country.”

The struggle against AQIM, which swore allegiance to al-Qaeda in January 2007 and is expanding its operations to several countries in the region, is very active on the ground. But in order to maintain its momentum, Mauritania needs to fill the holes in its existing security apparatus. This need was revealed by the international conference on the fight against terrorism, organized by the Mauritanian Institute for Strategic Studies, on Feb. 12 in Nouakchott. At the conference, experts and officials involved in the war against terrorism in its various forms reviewed the situation and analyzed methods that may help win the war.

“The conference was intended to find better ways to effectively fight terrorism, which threatens the Maghreb and the entire Sahel region,” Ahmed al-Mehdi, a member of the Mauritanian Institute for Strategic Studies, told Al-Monitor.

The many shortcomings of the security apparatus are forcing Mauritanian leaders to adopt a global approach based on a reality fraught with pitfalls and uncertainties. Compared to the arsenal of the al-Qaeda-affiliated armed Islamic groups, the resources of the armed forces and security personnel charged with fighting terrorism are inadequate, which further complicates their mission and makes it more difficult.