Long simmering tensions between Mali and Mauritania have spiked to new levels after a string of unexplained incidents on their lengthy and porous Saharan border.
Junta-led Mali is battling jihadists and separatists in violence that regularly spills over into its neighbour, which is a stable outlier in a turbulent region.
The cross-border incidents have for years marred ties between the two west African countries but relations have become more strained than ever by events in recent weeks.
Mali's army said last month that two of its soldiers "held by terrorist armed groups" managed to escape from a refugee camp in Mauritania.
The suggestion that "terrorists" were operating on its soil prompted more than just a stern rebuke from the Mauritanian authorities, who called the "completely unfounded" remark "deeply offensive".
The next day, they summoned the Malian ambassador to Nouakchott and released a statement expressing their "indignation".
Mauritania hosts hundreds of thousands of refugees who have fled Mali, which has struggled to stem attacks by jihadist groups and a separatist insurgency for more than a decade.
"The Malian junta is convinced that Mauritania serves as a rear base for the jihadists," a Malian diplomat told AFP.
According to a Malian military source, "Mauritania also shelters terrorists from the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA)", the Tuareg separatist coalition that is fighting the central government.
But a Malian foreign ministry official sought to moderate the tone.
"It is not at all our intention to accuse them of anything," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity, adding that the Mauritanians "just took offence".
'Repeated attacks'
Days after the diplomatic sparring, several Mauritanians died in Mali in separate incidents.
Nouakchott advised cattle herders to avoid crossing over into Mali for their own safety after what it described as "repeated attacks against Mauritanian citizens on Malian territory".
The tone escalated further last week after another incident in Mali.
Details are sketchy but Mauritania condemned "in the strongest possible terms these unacceptable acts" and reiterated "that the protection of its citizens is a red line".
Although not specifically named, the finger of blame was pointed at the Malian army.
There has been no official response from the Malian authorities. But a military source said that "terrorists" had been "neutralised" during the operations.
Mauritania hosts hundreds of thousands of refugees who have fled Mali. By MICHELE CATTANI (AFP/File)
"It has to be said, in recent years there have been abuses committed by the Malian army and Russian mercenaries against Mauritanians on the border between the two countries," the Malian diplomat acknowledged to AFP.
The dividing line between the two Sahelian countries is not always clear for those living, trading and grazing their cattle along the 2,000-kilometre (1,240-mile) border.
"The people on both sides are not necessarily thinking in terms of two separate countries. They live straddling both," said Amadou Sall, from the Mauritanie Perspectives think tank.
But incidents along the border are not new, he added.
"Even though there were some serious incidents at times, they were always resolved through diplomatic channels," Sall said.
Bubbling tensions
Ties have often been tense between the two countries since a junta seized power in Mali in 2020.
In 2024, Mauritania's defence minister met the head of the junta in Bamako after what Nouakchott called "repeated attacks against innocent and defenceless Mauritanian citizens inside Malian territory".
Mauritania has several times in recent years accused Mali's army and its Russian allies of incursions into the country in the pursuit of armed men.
Migration is also a bone of contention.
Cross-border incidents have for years marred ties between Mali and Mauritania. By THOMAS SAMSON (AFP)
The Mauritanian authorities have thrown out migrants mostly from west African countries including Mali in recent years, sparking indignation in the region.
In a bid to soothe tensions, Mauritanian diplomats visited Bamako in October.
"We are working with our Mauritanian brothers to smooth over our differences," the Malian foreign ministry official said, adding he was "negotiating with (his) Mauritanian neighbours to have the right to pursue" jihadists on the other side of the border.
A source close to the Mauritanian presidency said: "We are doing everything, with the president of the republic at the forefront, to prevent the situation from deteriorating. For four years there have been abuses against our civilian population."
Bakary Sambe, from the Dakar-based Timbuktu Institute think tank, said the tensions were "temporary" and both countries needed cross-border cooperation.
"(They) need to work together to secure borders and manage the terrorist threat," he said.
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