Mohamed Ould Cheikh el Ghazouani

Abdel Aziz is believed to be furious at what he sees as betrayal by the ruling Union Pour la République (UPR) which he founded and current President Mohamed Ould Cheikh el Ghazouani whom he picked...

Originally arranged as a half-year review of progress since the last such gathering at Pau in southern France in January the Nouakchott summit was a chance for Mauritania's new president Mohamed Ould Ghazouani to demonstrate the continuation of the Sahel-focussed strategy established by his predecessor Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz despite their deep domestic political differences (AC Vol 61 No 2 Sahel summit's fighting talk and Vol 60 No 23 Démarches et détente)...

The regional summit in the Mauritanian capital on 30 June started with a note of collective self-congratulation as President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani spoke of reinforcements for Operation Barkhane and a more coherent command structure for the regional G5 Sahel security force...

Like leaders across the region President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani is preoccupied with the fight to contain Covid-19 of which there have so far been seven confirmed cases and one death...

It could indicate an unprecedented liberalisation of the political scene by President Mohamed Ould Cheikh el Ghazouani...

But even as this reinvigorated agenda was adopted in Pau – with President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani inviting participants to Mauritania for a review of progress in six months' time – the 'Coalition for the Sahel' faces a major new worry...

Détente is in the air as President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani has surprised many by opening up to the opposition...

Two non-ECOWAS member states were on-hand to offer help: Chad's President Idriss Déby Itno and Mauritania's Mohamed Ould Cheikh el Ghazouani...

Opposition leaders were left with much to ponder after the 22 June presidential election handed Mohamed Ould Cheikh el Ghazouani outright victory on the first ballot with 52% of the vote...

Mohamed Ould Cheikh el Ghazouani has reason to be confident as he approaches presidential elections on 22 June...