Mauritania’s Deportation Campaign: The Forced Return of African Migrants

A mass crackdown on migrants in Mauritania follows a deal signed with the EU to stem migration from source countries in Africa.

Nouadhibou, Mauritania – Omar*, a 29-year-old bricklayer from rural Gambia, crossed into Mauritania in March searching for better pay. He settled in Nouadhibou, sharing a one-room shack with four friends and earning two to three times more as a casual labourer than he could at home. As the oldest of nine children, he saved enough to support his family and pay his siblings’ school fees.

Then, in August, the National Guard arrived. Police began rounding up migrants to detain and deport, targeting construction sites first. Omar, who lacked a residence permit, stopped working and limited his movements. Soon, police began raiding homes, breaking down doors day and night. During one raid, Omar and his friends escaped over rooftops but had nowhere else to go.

Unable to work, they ran critically short of money, sharing one small bowl of rice a day. “All the emotions I go through in one day are hard to explain,” Omar told Al Jazeera in early September.

A Wider Crackdown

This crackdown, occurring in Nouadhibou, the capital Nouakchott, and border towns like Rosso, has led to many being pushed out of Mauritania, often to a third country. The Mauritanian Association for Human Rights (AMDH) estimated that in March alone, 1,200 people were deported, about 700 of whom had valid residence permits.

The government has not detailed the campaign’s full scope but asserts its right to control the movement of foreigners. Interior Minister Mohamad Ahmed Ould Mohamed Lemine told parliament that authorities act “with respect for human dignity,” providing sufficient food, water, and medical services.

However, this campaign coincides with a new 210 million euro ($248m) migration partnership deal announced between the European Union and Mauritania in February 2024. The EU stated the package supports “migration management” and other investments, emphasizing “constant dialogue” to ensure respect for human rights.

Critics see this as part of the EU’s “border externalisation” policy, making deals with countries like Morocco, Tunisia, and Libya to stem irregular migration. Mauritania is key due to its proximity to Spain’s Canary Islands; a 2025 report noted that over 25,000 people departed from its shores for the archipelago in 2024.

A Climate of Fear and Extortion

In Nouadhibou, a city where migrants have long worked in construction and fishing, the arrests have created fear. Migrants report repeated arrests and systematic extortion.

An Ivorian construction worker, Traore*, was arrested three times in less than a week. The first two times, he and others were released after paying bribes—$200 the first time, and an unspecified amount paid by his boss the second. On the third occasion, his boss intervened after Traore had no money left.

His colleague, Ibrahim*, was arrested despite having a valid entry stamp. After five days in prison, a police officer demanded, “Now we will do business. How much can you pay?” Ibrahim paid a $100 bribe.

This constant threat has devastated migrant livelihoods. “We don’t know what to do,” said Obi*, an electrician from Ivory Coast, who now feels trapped—unable to earn a living but also unable to afford to return home.

Harsh Detention and Deportation

Two weeks after the first raid, police found Omar sleeping. Exhausted, he submitted without resistance.

Others faced more trauma. Yunisa*, a Sierra Leonean forklift operator, was apprehended on his way to work. When he tried to call his boss, his phone was slapped from his hand and shattered. He was deported to Senegal without being allowed to retrieve his belongings.

Detainees describe deplorable conditions. Youssouf*, a Guinean migrant, was arrested without being allowed to grab his shoes or documents. He was fed only once a day in detention and had to drink from a tap in a common toilet. Omar received no food, but police offered to bring it at extortionate prices. Access to toilets was limited; Omar urinated into a bucket with 50 other men, while Yunisa was told to use empty water bottles.

Women, Children, and Family Separations

The campaign has also swept up women and children. Mariam*, a mother from Sierra Leone, was arrested while going to buy medicine for her sick one-year-old daughter. She and her two young children were held for two days in a “cattle shed,” where guards ate in front of them. They were released after her husband’s boss paid a bribe.

Others were not so lucky. Oumar*, a Guinean migrant now in Senegal, was arrested with his wife while their four-year-old daughter was left at home. Despite his pleas, the police did not listen. Now, stranded in Senegal and strapped for cash, they do not know how they will be reunited with their daughter.

Stranded in No-Man’s Land

Deportees are often transported south in buses, sometimes chained together. Amadou*, a 19-year-old Guinean, was slapped so hard by an officer he suffered hearing loss for a week.

Many are released at the border crossing in Rosso. While those with valid documents can sometimes cross into Senegal, many are refused entry. Omar, despite having a Gambian ID card allowing visa-free access, was turned away once border guards learned he had been deported.

Stranded, deportees often pay for pirogues (boats) to smuggle them across the river to remote bushland, avoiding official posts. Youssouf waded through knee-deep water to reach Senegal, only to sleep on the streets of Rosso. He and others were later arrested by Senegalese police and sent back to no-man’s land, forcing them to pay again for another clandestine crossing.

Omar and his friends eventually circumvented Rosso through remote bush roads and took a series of taxis towards The Gambia.

An Uncertain Future

Back in The Gambia, Omar expressed mixed emotions. “There’s no policeman chasing us here… There’s no place like home,” he said. However, with no work and the school season opening, his family is asking for support he cannot provide.

Despite his ordeal, he remains nostalgic for his early, productive days in Nouadhibou. For now, he is watching the situation closely. “If they stop deporting people,” he said, “I’ll go back to Nouadhibou.”

The Mauritanian government did not respond to Al Jazeera’s requests for comment on the deportees’ allegations.

Summary

This article details Mauritania’s aggressive mass deportation campaign targeting sub-Saharan African migrants, which has intensified following a €210 million migration management partnership with the European Union.

Key Points:

• Widespread Crackdown: Security forces are raiding workplaces, markets, and homes in cities like Nouadhibou, detaining migrants—including those with valid residence permits—and deporting them in large numbers.

• Systematic Abuse and Extortion: Migrants report severe human rights violations, including:

  • Extortion: Police routinely demand bribes for release from detention.

  • Harsh Detention: Conditions are deplorable, with inadequate food, water, and sanitation. Detainees are often held in overcrowded cells and forced to urinate in buckets or bottles.

  • Violence and Theft: Accounts include physical abuse, the destruction of property, and confiscation of money and belongings.

• EU Partnership: The campaign coincides with a major EU funding deal aimed at stemming irregular migration from Africa, leading critics to accuse the bloc of “border externalisation” while ignoring human rights abuses.

• Family Trauma: The campaign separates families. Women and children are also detained, and some parents have been deported while their children remain stranded in Mauritania.

• Cycle of Stranding: Deportees are often dumped at border crossings like Rosso, where they are frequently refused entry by neighboring countries (like Senegal), leaving them trapped in a legal and geographical “no-man’s land” and forcing them to pay smugglers to cross borders illegally.

• Government Stance: The Mauritanian government defends its right to control its borders and insists it acts with “respect for human dignity,” but provides few details and has not responded to specific allegations.

• Migrant Dilemma: Despite the danger and abuse, many migrants, like Omar from Gambia, express a desire to return to Mauritania if the deportations stop, as economic opportunities at home are insufficient to support their families.

The article concludes that the EU-funded campaign has created a humanitarian crisis for migrants, trapping them between persecution in Mauritania and destitution in their home countries.

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