Summary:

On 8 March 2025, Malian irregular migrants in Mauritania protested and attacked a police station in the Gogui region near the Mauritanian border with Mali. 

The migrants threw stones at the police post before setting it on fire. They claimed that Mauritanian authorities confiscated some of their belongings and did not return them. 

Traffic at the Gogui border crossing between Mauritania and Mali stopped during the clashes, with buses waiting for extended periods to cross on both sides of the border.  

The Mauritanian authorities had previously brought the irregular migrants to the Malian border in order to deport them to Mali. However, the deportees protested and refused to leave Mauritania. 

Meanwhile, the Mauritanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mohamed Salem Ould Merzoug, held phone calls with his Malian, Gambian, Senegalese and Ivorian counterparts to address the challenges associated with irregular migration.  

Despite these talks, the Senegalese authorities expressed “their outrage at the inhumane treatment of persons arrested and forcibly returned to their homeland by Mauritania.” 

Outlook: 

Migrants are likely to continue resisting deportation, be it forced or organized in coordination with their respective countries. The incident in Gougui points to the intensity of the resistance to deportation among some migrants and the possibility that such situations can result in violent attacks and property damage. 

Popular outrage amongst local populations in Mauritania is likely to increase following the violence and calls to continue, if not increase, deportations are likely to rise. Tensions over migrants increase the risk of confrontations between Mauritanian residents and irregular migrants, particularly if such incidents become frequent. Migrants’ resistance to deportation is likely to justify Mauritanian acquisition of military equipment in coordination with international partners like the EU. 

Additionally, neighboring countries are likely to criticize violations against their citizens making diplomatic tensions possible.  

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