Nouakchott, Mauritania - The Mauritanian armed forces, based in the Eastern Hodh region, about 1,000 kms south-east of Nouakchott, at the border with Mali, have been put on red alert since Sunday, following a terrorist threat. According to the private news agency, Nouakchott Info (ANI), soldiers have been drafted to the emergency command posts of the various army barracks in the city of Nema, capital of the region, since the alert. Another batch of armed soldiers was drafted to the small Bassiknou town, further south, towards Mali, which, according to a military statement in Mauritania late last week, 'had been the target of an attempted terrorist attack.'

However, no indication has yet been provided on the reasons behind this new terror alert in the border between Mauritania and Mali.

Since the border area has recently experienced a series of violent clashes between Mauritanian army units and suspected terrorists of the notorious Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), joint patrols of the Mauritanian and Malian armies have intensified their monitoring of the area.

Pana 12/07/2011