Construction of Command Center for G-5 Sahel Joint Force’s Western Zone

The command post of the western zone of the G-5 Sahel joint force (FC-G5S), located in Nbeiket Laouach, in the south-east of Mauritania, has just benefited from a seat housing a command center, housing units for officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers, and two boreholes, among others, thanks to funding from the European Union, the first part of which amounts to nine million Euros.

The second and final installment is in the fundraising stage, as the Ambassador and Head of European Union Delegation to Mauritania, HE Mr. Giacomo Durazzo, said during his visit to the site last Thursday.

The “Mauribat”, Mauritanian Battalion in military jargon, made available to the joint force by Nouakchott, alongside Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Mali, can intervene at any time to initiate preventive actions to drive out the enemy whenever they approach the borders.

This is following the deep restructuring of the army with as guiding principles, among others, anticipation, responsiveness, and modularity.

The intervention of the European Union in favor of the joint force of the G-5 Sahel in Hodh Echarghi also focused on the support of other constituted bodies, such as the national guard and the national police which benefited from respectively a borehole equipped with a water tower with a capacity of thirty tons, as a prelude to the construction of a base for the nomadic group in Achemim and the construction of a new post for the police special unit of investigation in Nema, again as part of EU support for the G-5 efforts in the fight against terrorism.

It should be noted that the Mauritanian authorities, aware of the extent of the phenomenon of extremism and terrorism which dealt a fatal blow to tourist activity from 2005 to 2010, have decided to fully commit themselves to meet this security challenge.

Thus, a comprehensive strategy was adopted. The new approach, which uses civil and military means to counter terrorism, relies on the Ulemas and the Fakihs (Muslim scholars and jurisprudents) to thwart the propaganda of the jihadists and to correct their false perceptions.