Clashes in Mauritania between security forces and protesters rallying against the reelection of President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani left three people dead, authorities said Tuesday. An unspecified number of people were reported injured.
Following the clashes, mobile internet access was blocked Tuesday as authorities vowed to arrest those behind the violence.
The protests broke out late Monday in parts of the northwestern African country after Ghazouani was declared the winner of the presidential election.
His main rival, Biram Dah Abeid, a renowned anti-slavery activist, rejected the outcome and claimed the result was falsified.
Authorities said security forces in the southern city of Kaedi — the country’s largest and an opposition stronghold with an overwhelming Black majority — confronted the demonstrators, the Ministry of Interior said, and several arrests were made. The ministry did not identify the three people killed in the violence or elaborate on the circumstances of their deaths.
Demonstrations also broke out in the towns of Nouadhibou, Rosso Zoueirat and Boghe, all also Abeid strongholds.

“Kaedi last night saw violent acts of vandalism and sabotage of public and private property, scenes of looting and a general climate of fear which led the security forces to confront it and arrest several demonstrators,” the ministry said in a statement.
“The prosecutor’s office will open an investigation to determine the circumstances of these events and the death of the demonstrators,” the ministry added.
Ghazouani, who had campaigned on a pledge of providing security and economic growth, won 56% of the votes while Abeid received 22%, the electoral commission said Monday. Abeid promptly called for “peaceful demonstrations and peaceful gatherings.”
The commission — which includes representatives of political parties — dismissed the opposition's claims about voting irregularities.
Three international election observation missions also said in their preliminary statements Monday that the voting was held in a “peaceful and transparent atmosphere.”
Ghazouani has been accused by his opponents of corruption and mismanagement but remains popular among Mauritanians who see him as a beacon of stability amid regional tensions, with several neighbouring countries shaken by military coups and jihadi violence.
For centuries, Mauritania’s economic and political elite of Arab and Amazigh people enslaved Black people from the northwestern Sahara.
Mauritania outlawed slavery in 1981, the last country in the world to do so, but the practice continues, human rights groups say.
There are around 149,000 people held in conditions of slavery in this nation of less than 5 million, according to the 2023 Global Slavery Index.
Latest Stories
-
Don’t celebrate yet, declined T-bill yields artificial – IPPA to Finance Minister
5 hours -
Hidden epidemics in Africa and power of serosurveillance
5 hours -
Policy rate hike came at a wrong time; government must be financially disciplined – IPPA
5 hours -
Telecel CEO calls for collaboration between academia and industry for nation-building
6 hours -
Telecel Enterprise Business Director advocates strengthened support for women entrepreneurs
6 hours -
Chamber of Licensed Gold Buyers hails enactment of GoldBod Act
6 hours -
Securing Rugby’s Future: Morocco welcomes 2025 international seminar on African Rugby Development
7 hours -
UHAS commits to advancing role of sports in public health and national dev’t
8 hours -
FixTheCountry to stage May 1 protest over gov’t inaction on illegal mining
8 hours -
Some film producers wanted to end my dreams – Yvonne Nelson
8 hours -
Daily Insight for CEOs: The CEO’s guide to financial leadership
8 hours -
China-Ghana Mining Association inaugurated to deepen bilateral collaboration
8 hours -
Gov’t to equip pre-tertiary schools with tech tools to boost STEM and AI education
9 hours -
Delta Air Lines champions women’s leadership in global trade
9 hours -
Caveman CEO wins The Royal Senchi’s 1st Golf Invitational
9 hours