Average Weekend in #Mauritania

No Political Prisoners
Yesterday, I read (and shared) an interview with Mauritania's Aziz, in which he boasted that there are no political prisoners in Mauritania – he was only able to do that because of the very recent release of the political activist and abolitionist  Biram Dah Obeid, of course.

No Terror Protection Payola
He also denied reports from Pakistan, where it is claimed they discovered documents outlining a deal with AQ, and said Mauritania had not handed over any money in exchange for protection from terrorist attacks. He also said he'd asked the US, and the US denied all knowledge. Further, he said all terrorism actors were in jail, sentenced to death, and none had been released, except those who repented after serving their sentence. (Quite how a person can repent after serving a death sentence was not explained.) However, some of us recall that a small group of suspected terrorist sympathisers repented, were released, and each given a large cash payment, using money from the US government.

No Daylight Robbery
Today, there are reports of the first attempted "armed robbery" on a bank in Mauritania.  We're being told the motive was ideological, because the perpetrators claimed the National Bank of Mauritania  (BNM) was guilty of usury, and the leader of the 4-man group had a beard. Their "attack" involved arrived at closing time saying they had money they wanted to deposit. At some point, knives and a gun were produced, and a warning shot fired into the air. They were apparently foiled by the bank's unarmed security with the help of plucky bystanders, and then arrested by the police. I will not be surprised if this is subsequently used as evidence of a resurgence of terrorism.

Filed under: Into Africa, Mauritania, Updates Tagged: Mauritania

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