President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani of Mauritânia in an interview ahead of the country’s presidential vote called on West African countries to come together to eliminate jihadism.
The 67-year-old former army chief and defense minister is expected to serve a second term as leader of the 4.5 million-strong nation, strategically located between North and sub-Saharan Africa.
According to him, the “security situation in the sub-region is not at all good” and has become “worse”.
“The region must generate a common political will to be able to fight against insecurity,” Ghazouani told AFP on Friday, on the campaign trail ahead of an election on June 29.
“I am not one of those who think today that countries can face a threat like terrorism individually.”
“We need to form a coalition,” Ghazouani said, urging the countries of the region to “come together”.
Despite the spread of jihadism in the Sahel, especially in Mali, Mauritania has not experienced an attack since 2011.
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