Mauritania

Islamic Republic of Mauritania

The present nation of Mauritania is officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania (الجمهورية الإسلامية الموريتانية). The region was a part of the ancient Ghana Empire, but in 1076 Moorish warriors invaded resulting in a 500 year effort to subdue the indigenous population. This culminated in the Mauritanian Thirty Years War (Char Bouba War) in which immigrant Arab tribes such as the Beni Hassan defeated the local Sanhadja Berber tribes, thus securing control over modern day Mauritania. The nation and many of its surrounding neighbors came under French control in the late 19th century; by 1920 most of the nation was brought under French colonial administration as French West Africa. Independence was granted in 1960.

The Mauritania-Senegal Border War was fought between the two nations between April 1989 and July 1991, ending in a treaty initiated by the Senegalese president. The country has frequently experienced tensions between black African and Arab Mauritanians, with Arabs traditionally dominating politics and blacks often relegated to low social status. Although outlawed under French administration, slavery is rumoured to still exist, with as much as 20% of the population living under conditions of forced labor.

On 8-9 May 2003, Major Saleh Ould Hanenna led a group of Army personnel in an attempted coup d'etat that resulted in two days of heavy fighting in the capital of Nouakchott; the rebel forces were eventually defeated by soldiers loyal to president Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya. A little over two years later, on 3 August 2005, a successful coup d'etat saw the ousting of president Taya and the subsequent replacement of his regime with the Military Council for Justice and Democracy (المجلس العسكري للعدالة والديمقراطية) under the leadership of Ely Ould Mohamed Vall. The CMJD retained control of the country until new elections were held in March 2007, resulting in the election of Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi.

In August 2008, a group of high ranking Army generals just dismissed earlier in the day by president Abdallahi, mounted their own successful coup d'etat, placing the government in the hands of the High Council of State (المجلس الأعلى للدولة). In July of the following year, leader of the coup, General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz was elected president, an office he retained for nearly ten years, after which he peacefully retired from office and passed the presidency on to Mohamed Ould Ghazouani.

The Armée Nationale Mauritanienne (الجيش الوطني الموريتاني) consist of the National Army, National Navy, the Mauritania Islamic Air Force, and the Gendarmerie Nationale. A number of special operations units are known to exist, concentrated within the Army. These include the 1er Bataillon de Commandos Parachutistes (1er BCP), 2eme Bataillon de Commandos Parachutistes (2eme BCP), Bataillon de la Securite Presidentielle (BASEP), Bataillon Special d'Intervention (BSI), and the Group Special d'Intervention (GSI).

Camouflage Patterns of Mauritania

• A substantial portion of the armed forces appear to have worn solid color, olive green uniforms during the earliest era. The oldest documented camouflage pattern in use with Mauritania's armed forces is a copy of the French tenue de leópard or lizard pattern, which initially seems to have been worn primarily by officers or airborne personnel. The original French-inspired design was probably phased out in the late 1980s.

• A unique variant of the French lizard design utilizing desert colors has been in use with the Mauritanian armed forces since at least 1993. The stripes of this pattern, like the original French design, are oriented horizontally. Although a vertically-aligned variation of the pattern was produced, there is no evidence supporting its use by Mauritania or any other country.

• Adopted in the late 1990s or early 2000s, a copy of the French CE woodland camouflage pattern has been a common sight within the armed forces throughout the modern era, particularly on personnel deploying outside the country with the United Nations.

• Another variation of the French lizard design, made in Asia and having less-finely detailed stripes, is also worn by the armed forces of this nation. It appears to have been adopted by Mauritania around the same time as the "arid" lizard pattern, circa 1998. This pattern has seen widespread use by many nations throughout Africa.

• This nation has also adopted a copy of the Italian armed forces vegetato pattern, which was first seen in 2013. The design has primarily been observed in use by the Presidential Guard unit.

• First observed around 2014, a copy of the US-designed tricolor desert pattern is also worn by some units in this country. By 2025 this would become the most commonly seen camouflage pattern in the armed forces.

• Additionally, members of the Mauritanian Air Force have adopted a variation of the Italian desert vegetato design, which appears to use a slightly different color palette. This pattern is also worn by other elements of the armed forces, including the Garde Presidentielle and possibly others.

• The French Army Daguet three-color desert pattern has not seen as much distribution within the armed forces as its temperate predecessor, but since at least 2022 some elements have worn it. In the modern era, the design is most often seen on single or small groups of officers.

• The Gendarmerie Nationale was created in 1961 from a cadre of 150 individuals and is the main law enforcement organization for the country. The main working uniform of the GN has always been some shade of olive green, but in recent years, some units have been observed wearing a copy of the USMC temperate MARPAT camouflage design, including on deployment to the Central African Republic in 2017.

• Seen in 2021, a four-color variation of desert DPM camouflage is now being worn by a number of units in the armed forces, including the Garde Presidentielle, and units of the Mauritanian Navy.

• An interesting variation of woodland camouflage was first observed on Mauritanian armed forces personnel deploying with the United Nations early in 2022. This design seems to have a much larger concentration of khaki than is typically found on most copies of the m81 woodland design, but with similar shapes in black and brown, and a slightly more olive shade of green.

• First observed in October 2023, a copy of desert MARPAT camouflage has become increasingly common within the armed forces.