Armed Forces of Mauritania

History

Saleh Ould Hanenna, a former army major, led the 2003 Mauritanian coup d'état attempt in June 2003. It aimed to overthrow President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya. He commanded a rebel section of the Army during two days of heavy fighting in Nouakchott. With the failure of the coup Hanenna initially escaped capture, and formed a group called the 'Knights of Change' with Mohamed Ould Cheikhna, but they were arrested on 9 October 2004.

General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, a career soldier and high-ranking officer, was a leading figure in the 2005 Mauritanian coup d'état that deposed President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya.

In August 2008, General Ould Abdel Aziz led the 2008 Mauritanian coup d'état that toppled President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi. Following the latter coup, Abdel Aziz became President of the High Council of State as part of what was described as a political transition leading to a new election. He resigned from that post in April 2009 to stand as a candidate in the July 2009 presidential election, which he won. He was sworn in on 5 August 2009.

Army

In March 1985, the Defense Intelligence Agency reported the army was 8,300 strong with no reserves (Military Intelligence Summary – Africa South of the Sahara, DDB 2680-104-85, ICOD 15 October 1984, Mauritania pages 4, 5, declassified by letter dated 29 April 2014). Reported regions at the time were Region I – Nouadhibou, Region II – Zoueirat, Region III – Atar, Region IV – formerly at Tidjikdja, which no longer existed, Region V – Nema, Region VI – Nouakchott, and Region VII – Rosso. The army was organized into the six regions which each supervised several companies, though there was 'one small autonomous infantry battalion stationed in Nouakchott.

The Army is 15,000 strong, according to the IISS, with six military regions, two camel corps battalions, one battalion of T-55 battle tanks, one armored reconnaissance squadron, eight garrison infantry battalions, seven motorized infantry battalions, one commando/para battalion, 3 artillery battalions, 4 air defense batteries, one engineer company, and one guard battalion. The 6th Military Region may be in the area of the capital, and the 7th Military Region may be at Aleg.

The Mauritanian military is currently involved in Operation Enduring Freedom – Trans Sahara. Previous U.S. anti-terrorist engagement included training under the Pan Sahel Initiative. Under the PSI, a 10th Special Forces Group training team carried out a one-week border monitoring training programme in January 2004.

The IISS listed equipment in 2007 as including 35 T-55 main battle tanks, 70 reconnaissance vehicles (20 Panhard AML-60, 40 Panhard AML-90, 10 Alvis Saladin), 25 wheeled APCs (estimate 20 Panhard M3 and 5 Alvis Saracen), 194 artillery pieces (80 towed: 36 HM-2/M-101, 20 D-30, 24 D-74; 114 mortars: 60 60-mm, 30 Brandt 120-mm), 24 MILAN ATGM, 114 recoilless rocket launchers (est. 90 M-40A1 106mm, est 24 M-20 75mm), est 50 RPG-7 Knout, 104 SAMs (est 100 SA-7 Grail, and a reported 4 SA-9 Gaskin), and 82 towed anti-aircraft guns (14.5mm, including 12 ZPU-4, ZU-23-2, 37 mm automatic air defense gun M1939 (61-K), 12 57 mm AZP S-60, and 12 100mm KS-19s).

Equipment

Among reported special forces units are:

• 1er Bataillon de Commandos Parachutistes (1er BCP)
• 2eme Bataillon de Commandos Parachutistes (2eme BCP)
• Bataillon de la Securite Presidentielle (BASEP)
• Bataillon Special d'Intervention (BSI)
• (GSI)

Air Force

Main article: Mauritania Islamic Air Force

After achieving independence in 1960 the Faidem (Force Aerienne Islamique de Mauritanie) was supplied equipment by France, such as C-47s and MH.1521 Broussards, which was later replaced by the Britten-Norman BN-2A Defender between 1976 and 1978 and had operated as a transport and observation squadron in the Western Sahara War. During the same time two Cessna 337s and two DHC-5 Buffalo STOL transports were supplied in 1977 and 1978 with one DHC-5 crashing almost immediately and the other being returned to De Havilland Canada in 1979. After the Polisario Front shot down one Defender and damaged two in 1978 the Mauritanian government ordered six IA-58 Pucarás for ground attack duties from Argentina; this order was later cancelled after a Mauritanian military coup.

The Air Force School was created in Atar. It was founded to train pilots, mechanics, other crewmen for the Air Force.

More recent procurements have been from China in the form of the Harbin Y-12 II turboprop transports were delivered in September 1995, one crashed in April 1996. A second one crashed on 12 July 2012. The Xian Y7-100C (a copy of the AN-24 transport) was delivered from October 1997, which crashed in May 1998. The Air Force has recently received their order of Embraers.

For up-to-date list of the aircraft of the air force, see the main article Mauritania Islamic Air Force.

Navy

Mauritania has developed a five-year plan to develop its navy into a force that is capable of defending the country's 235,000 km squared exclusive economic zone, Admiral Isselkou Ould Cheik El-Weli said during a promotion ceremony held at the Nouadhibou naval base in late May 2017. The Saharamedias.net website reported that the plan includes the acquisition of two 60-meter vessels, which are currently under construction, and "mid-sized ships", as well as the formation of three companies of marines. No further details were provided.

The Mauritanian Navy was created on 25 January 1966, after the extension of Mauritania's territorial waters from 12 to. By 1972 the navy had one small patrol gunboat and two small patrol craft that performed port control and customs duties. In 1987 the navy had thirteen boats. Of these boats, only eight were seaworthy, and the navy could send only two vessels out to open water at a time. Mauritania's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) extended 200 nmi out from the coast, but even if effective coastal surveillance were possible, the navy's vessels would not be able to control Mauritania's waters. Nouadhibou housed the major naval base; Nouakchott housed a secondary base.

Ship inventory

References

Works cited

References

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