This is a list of wars involving Mauritania.
| Conflict | Mauritania and allies | Opponents | Results | President of Mauritania |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Sahara War (1975–1979) |  Mauritania  Morocco  France |  Polisario | Defeat
| |
| Mauritania–Senegal Border War (1989–1991) | Mauritania |  Senegal FLAM | Indecisive
| |
| Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002–) |  Algeria [1] Morocco [1] Mauritania [2]  Mali [2] [1]  Chad [1] France [1]  Tunisia [1]  Libya [1] |  al-Qaeda | Ongoing
|
The original inhabitants of Mauritania were the Bafour, presumably a Mande ethnic group, connected to the contemporary Arabized minor social group of Imraguen ("fishermen") on the Atlantic coast.
The Armed Forces of Mauritania is the defence force of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, having an army, navy, air force, gendarmerie, and presidential guard. Other services include the national guard and national police, though they both are subordinated to the Ministry of the Interior. As of 2018, the Mauritanian armed forces budget was 3.9% of the country's GDP.
The 2005 Mauritanian coup d'état was a military coup that took place in Mauritania on 3 August 2005. The President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya was ousted by the Armed Forces of Mauritania and replaced by the Military Council for Justice and Democracy (CMJD), headed by Ely Ould Mohamed Vall, while Taya was in Saudi Arabia attending the funeral of King Fahd of Saudi Arabia. A constitutional referendum, parliamentary and presidential elections were scheduled and the coup leaders vowed not to contest any of the elections. The military government ended with the presidential election on 11 March 2007 as promised.
The Military Committee for National Salvation was a military government of Mauritania that took power in the 1979 coup d'état. It was installed by Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla, Ahmed Ould Bouceif and fellow officers, in an internal regime/military coup on April 6, 1979, removing Colonel Mustafa Ould Salek of the Military Committee for National Recovery (CRMN) from effective power. He was replaced by Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Louly in June 1979. Haidalla would later emerge as the main military strongman, and go on to assume full powers in the 1980 coup d'état, only to be deposed by Colonel Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya in the 1984 coup d'état. The CMSN remained as an institution until 1992, when Ould Taya introduced a democratic multi-party system following the 1991 constitutional referendum – he himself lost power only in the 2005 coup d'état.
Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi was a Mauritanian politician who was President of Mauritania from 2007 to 2008. He served in the government during the 1970s, and after a long period of absence from politics he won the March 2007 presidential election, taking office on 19 April 2007. He was deposed in a military coup d'état on 6 August 2008.
The insurgency in the Maghreb refers to the Islamist insurgency in the Maghreb region of North Africa that followed on from the end of the Algerian Civil War in 2002 to the present day. The Algerian militant group Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) allied itself with al-Qaeda to eventually become al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). The Algerian and other Maghreb governments fighting the militants have worked with the United States and the United Kingdom since 2007, when Operation Enduring Freedom – Trans Sahara began. While the 2011 Arab Spring affected support for the insurgency, it also presented military opportunities for the jihadists. In 2012, AQIM and Islamist allies captured the northern half of Mali, until being fought back less than a year later following a French-led foreign intervention, which was succeeded by the Sahel-wide Operation Barkhane. In Libya, the ISIL/ISIS/IS/Daesh was able to control some limited territory during the Second Libyan Civil War, amid allegations of local collaboration between the rival AQIM and ISIL.
In December 1984, Haidallah was deposed by Colonel Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya, who, while retaining tight military control, relaxed the political climate. Ould Taya moderated Mauritania's previous pro-Algerian stance, and re-established ties with Morocco during the late 1980s. He deepened these ties during the late 1990s and early 2000s as part of Mauritania's drive to attract support from Western states and Western-aligned Arab states. Mauritania has not rescinded its recognition of Polisario's Western Saharan exile government, and remains on good terms with Algeria. Its position on the Western Sahara conflict has been, since the 1980s, one of strict neutrality.
The 2008 Mauritanian coup d'état was a military coup that took place in Mauritania on August 6, 2008, when President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi was ousted from power by the Armed Forces of Mauritania, led by a group of high-ranking generals he had dismissed from office earlier that day.
Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz is a former Mauritanian politician who was the 8th President of Mauritania, in office from 2009 to 2019. A career soldier and high-ranking officer, he was a leading figure in the August 2005 coup that deposed President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya, and in August 2008 he led another coup, which toppled President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi. Following the 2008 coup, Abdel Aziz became President of the High Council of State as part of what was described as a political transition leading to a new election. He resigned from that post in April 2009 in order to stand as a candidate in the July 2009 presidential election, which he won. He was sworn in on 5 August 2009. He was subsequently re-elected in 2014, then did not seek re-election in 2019. He was succeeded by Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, who assumed office on 1 August 2019.
Yahya Ould Hademine is a Mauritanian engineer and politician who served as Defence Minister of Mauritania. He served as the Prime Minister of Mauritania from August 21, 2014 to October 29, 2018.
The following lists events that happened during 2010 in Niger.
Ahmed Salim Ould Sidi was a Mauritanian military and political leader and acting Prime Minister of Mauritania between 28 and 31 May 1979.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Nouakchott, Mauritania.
The 2003 Mauritanian coup d'état attempt was a violent military coup attempt in Mauritania which took place on 8–9 June 2003. The coup attempt, led by Major Saleh Ould Hanenna who commanded a rebel section of the Army, resulted in two days of heavy fighting in the capital Nouakchott, before rebel soldiers were defeated by troops loyal to the President, Colonel Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya.
The 1978 Mauritanian coup d'état was a bloodless military coup in Mauritania which took place on 10 July 1978. The coup, led by the Army Chief of Staff, Colonel Mustafa Ould Salek, who commanded a group of junior officers, overthrew President Moktar Ould Daddah, who ruled the country since independence from France in 1960. The main motive for the coup was Daddah's ill-fated participation in the Western Sahara War and the resulting ruin of the economy of Mauritania. Following the coup, Salek had assumed the presidency of a newly-formed military junta, the 20-member Military Committee for National Recovery (CMRN).
Events in the year 2021 in Mali.
The 1980 Mauritanian coup d'état was a military coup in Mauritania which took place on 4 January 1980. The coup was led by the Prime Minister, Colonel Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla, who seized power from the President, Lieutenant Colonel Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Louly. Haidalla had assumed the presidency of the 24-member ruling Military Committee for National Salvation (CMSN), a military junta which was created following an earlier coup in 1979.
The 1979 Mauritanian coup d'état was a military coup in Mauritania which took place on 6 April 1979. The coup was led by Colonel Ahmed Ould Bouceif and Colonel Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla, who seized power from the President, Colonel Mustafa Ould Salek, and the 20-member ruling Military Committee for National Recovery (CMRN), a military junta which was created following an earlier coup in 1978.