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Old 05-31-2012, 01:49   #1
Airbornelawyer
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Mauritania's 'overlooked' Arab spring

Mauritania's 'overlooked' Arab spring

Protests in the little-known west African country have so far received little media attention, but that could soon change

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisf...b-spring/print

For those interested in keeping track of developments in the region. Some excerpts:
Quote:
The international community has historically taken little interest in Mauritania since its independence from France in 1960, because until recently it was seen as a poor expanse of desert with little strategic value (it has one of the lowest GDPs in Africa, making it among the poorest countries in the world).

However, its importance is likely to increase, and with it the world's attention. Mauritania's extensive iron ore deposits, which account for almost half of its exports, have increased in value due to rising metal prices, leading to more mines being opened, and hundreds of millions of dollars earned last year.

Furthermore, oil was discovered in 2001, although Mauritanians have yet to benefit because the country lacks the necessary infrastructure to fully exploit its reserves. However, with production on the rise, several oil exploration deals inked in the last year, and a population of just over 3 million, the potential windfall is huge.

As China makes economic and developmental inroads into Africa it may only be a matter of time before Mauritania's largely untapped resources come into focus. This could irk the US into also seeking greater involvement, as Africa is fast becoming an economic battleground for the current and upcoming superpowers.
Quote:
Potentially the most destabilising regional development is the secessionist movement in neighbouring northern Mali, driven by battle-hardened, largely secular Tuareg forces who fought for Libya's late dictator Muammar Gaddafi, as well as Islamist fighters.

There are rising tensions between these groups, with the Islamists opposing the Tuareg declaration of independence, as well as differences over how to govern the territory, particularly with regard to Islamic law.

Add to that the international community's refusal to recognise Tuareg independence, Mali's government threatening "total and relentless war" to recapture lost ground, tensions among residents in the north, and the Economic Community of West African States raising the prospect of military intervention, and you have a potential powder keg that could explode across a long and porous border. Thousands have already fled to Mauritania.
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