The Mauritanian army denies the incursion of Malian forces into its territory.
He calls for caution and accuracy in conveying information.
The Mauritanian National Army issued an official statement in response to reports circulating about military movements by Malian forces in some border villages, confirming that these movements fall within the scope of routine patrol duties.
The Mauritanian army statement explained that the patrols included the areas of Labniya, Qata’a al-Dafou’, Ahl Ibrahim and Fousat, clarifying that these locations are inside Malian territory and at specific distances from the border line, according to the officially approved maps.
The Mauritanian army confirmed that these activities are not new, but have been carried out on previous occasions, and do not reflect any exceptional development, stressing that the situation on the border is stable and under control.
Avoid circulating unconfirmed news
The Mauritanian army called for caution and accuracy in conveying information, and for avoiding the circulation of unconfirmed news, reiterating its commitment to protecting the nation’s borders and ensuring its security, while being keen to keep the public informed of developments with complete transparency.
Earlier on Saturday, media reports circulated that a unit of the Malian army had entered border villages in Mauritania belonging to the town of Kouki in the Kobenni district of the Hodh El Gharbi region, for the third week in a row.
Reports claimed that the military unit toured the villages, informing residents that their villages were located within Malian territory.
A Malian military unit had entered and toured these villages last Saturday as well, and visited a school under construction in one of the villages, and questioned its workers, most of whom were Malians, about the building permit. It also visited a private house under construction and ordered the workers to stop work until they obtained a building permit from the Malian authorities, according to the circulating reports.
The Malian army entered six Mauritanian villages
A Malian military unit had previously toured six border villages with Mauritania on March 25, namely “Kat’a al-Dafou””, ”Foussat al-Baydhan”, ”Foussat Iflan”, ”al-Nizaha”, ”Ahl Ibrahim”, and ”Karj La’joul”.
The mayor of Kouki Zamal municipality, Dede Ahmed Ahmed Massoud, said in press statements that the Malian army entered six Mauritanian villages belonging to his municipality today, and informed the residents that the lands in which these villages are located belong to Mali.
He confirmed that no killings or injuries were recorded during the Malian army's patrols in the villages belonging to his municipality, stressing that these villages belong to his municipality and are inhabited by Mauritanian citizens.
