Mauritania National Counter-Terrorism Training Course

Date: 2013-02-24 to 2013-03-07

Venue: National Police College , Nouakchott , Mauritania

Background

Terrorism represents one of the most serious threats to peace, security, stability and development in Mauritania. This threat exists at the international, regional and national levels. At the international level, the threat emanates mainly from the global jihadist movement led by al-Qaeda, which is believed to have strongholds or cells in the country. At the regional level, the close proximity of Mauritania to countries like Mali, Western Sahara and Algeria, is an important factor that contributes to the country’s vulnerability to terrorism. Indeed, Mauritanians have been recruited into and hold important positions in various jihadist and terrorist groups in Mali such as Ansar-el Dine, al-Qaeda in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and the Movement for the Unity of Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO). This strengthens the belief that these groups may have cells in Mauritania, and that they could strike at any time.

The internal threat emanates mainly from the increasing radicalisation of many Mauritanian youths due largely to poverty, widespread unemployment and a fragile democracy, along with long-standing divisive issues relating to ethnicity and race. Some of these factors may have been accountable for the recruitment and participation of Mauritanians in jihadist and terrorist groups in the region. Domestic terrorist groups such as the Knights for Change and the Group for the Teaching of Jihad (suspected of having links with AQIM), have also made the threat of terrorism even more imminent. As a consequence, fears about terrorism have been high in Mauritania since 2005 when terrorists attacked a military installation in Lemgheity in the north, killing 15 soldiers. Between 2005 and 2011, more than 12 major attacks on military and civilian infrastructures occurred in the northern, eastern, western and southern parts of the country. Nouakchott has been extremely cautious of the terrorist campaign in Mali and the international military intervention.

Rationale of the training course

Mauritania is facing a major challenge in attempting to contain the threat of terrorism. The challenge lies in the lack of resources and training necessary to strengthen the country’s capacity to respond effectively. The Government of Mauritania requested the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) to provide technical assistance to augment its capability to respond proactively. In the context of the ISS’ West Africa and Sahel counter-terrorism programme, the ISS and the Directorate of National Security of the Mauritanian Police Force jointly organised a two-week counter-terrorism training course at the National Police Training College in Nouakchott from 24 February – 7 March 2013. The main purpose of the course was to promote awareness and develop basic skills and expertise on key counter-terrorism issues.

Participants

Senior law enforcement officials from the police, gendarmerie, national guards, routier, border authorities, intelligence officials, and defence attended the course. Participants included police commissioners, inspectors, commandants, colonels, intelligence chiefs, investigators and detectives.

Contents and outcomes

The training course provided an introduction to counter-terrorism, and the curriculum was based on the draft ECOWAS Counter-Terrorism Training Manual (developed by the ISS) which aims to develop and standardise the expertise and technical capabilities of countries in the region. The course was designed to enable participants to:

Understand the general trend of terrorism at national, regional, continental and international levels
Understand the legal obligations of their country based on the various national, regional, continental and international legal instruments, and ensure the effective application of the instruments
Strengthen cooperation with international institutions as part of the counter-terrorism effort
Carry out effective border controls and monitor the identification and management of terrorist threats
Understand the options and strategies to deal with different situations of terrorism, including bombs and explosives
Undertake effective international cooperation.