Sahara : Mauritanian gold miners killed in the buffer zone

At least four Mauritanian gold miners were killed, near the town of Gleibat El Foula, located east of the Sand Wall erected by the Royal Armed Forces (FAR), in the buffer zone, approximately 150 km to the east of Dakhla, falling within the Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab region. They were boarding three vehicles, leaving from the Mauritanian town of Zouerate.

Mauritanian media alleges they were killed following an «air strike» in an «area controlled by the Polisario Front». A version ignored by another Mauritanian newspaper which links the death of the miners to an «explosion».

For the record, in December 2022, Mauritanian President Mohamed Cheikh Ould El Ghazouani urged gold miners to «not expose themselves to danger». The Head of State ordered the «administrative, military and security authorities in charge to strictly exercise their functions and implement the decisions rendered without hesitation or favoritism».

The Gleibat El Foula area has already experienced airstrikes carried out by FAR drones, notably in September 2022 and October 2023.

Polisario members fired, on December 15, «four missiles» at the province of Aousserd which, like Gleibat El Foula, falls within the Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab region.