Mauritanian authorities have ordered the evacuation of gold miners operating within 10 kilometres of the country’s shared border with Algeria, citing growing security concerns in the sensitive frontier zone.
The decision, issued under an official decree, gives prospectors a one-week deadline to comply. The move is aimed at limiting the movements of elements linked to the Polisario Front in the border area, according to informed sources.
The measure was announced by the governor of Tiris Zemmour, Idrissa Demba Korera, during a field visit carried out alongside the commander of the Second Military Region to several gold mining sites located near the Algerian border.
A source told Assahifa that the decision comes against a backdrop of what was described as a worrying security situation, pointing to recent clashes in northern Mauritania between gold miners and members of the separatist group. These incidents have revived concerns over the deterioration of security in this highly sensitive border region.
According to the same source, removing gold mining workers from the area is intended to allow the Mauritanian army to fully carry out its surveillance and border security duties, safeguard national territorial integrity, and prevent the Polisario Front from exploiting a key resource it allegedly relies on in preparing attacks against Morocco.
The source added that Polisario militia members have reportedly been using vehicles registered in Mauritania and posing as gold prospectors to infiltrate Moroccan territory, before carrying out shelling operations targeting Moroccan positions west of the sand berm.
These developments unfold within a complex security context. Although northern Mauritania is officially classified as a civilian exclusion zone, it was exceptionally opened to Mauritanian prospectors by a presidential decision due to its economic importance and its role as a source of income for hundreds of young people. However, this exceptional opening is facing mounting challenges amid fragile security conditions fuelled by the Polisario militia operating around the buffer zone and the Tindouf camps.
In recent years, the border areas have seen a growing influx of prospectors, drawn by their status as some of the region’s most promising surface gold belts. This has turned the zone into a frequent flashpoint, amid a lack of precise official information from Nouakchott and Algiers regarding developments on the ground.
