Mauritania: Opposition Coalition denounces land for foreigners
Nouakchott, Mauritania (PANA) - Opposition and black nationalist movement, under the umbrella of the Coalition Vivre Ensemble (CVE), has denounced what it called "land hoarding" in the Senegal River Valley (southern Mauritania) which are later sold off to foreign companies and speculators, PANA reported, quoting a statement obtained from Nouakchott on Monday.
The document refers to the case of the Arab Authority for Investment and Agricultural Development (AAAID), "beneficiary of 3,200 hectares of land in the Brakna region", which had sparked a huge protest from the populations of several localities in the department of Boghé (300 km southeast of Nouakchott) since 2015.
It said the problem had resurfaced again in recent days with the arrival on the scene of the machines intended to carry out work on the lands as the communities gathered on the site indicating their refusal to give up their land.
The events are also taking place in the communes of Dar El Barka and Ould Birom.
The communities allege that allocations of rural land in the Senegal River Valley "are made in flagrant violation of the Land, Forestry, Agro-pastoral and Environmental Code, constituting a serious breach of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR)".
The CVE reaffirms "its total support to the populations, making the Mauritanian State solely responsible for the consequences of these acts on peace and social cohesion.
It demands the outright cancellation of all allocations of land for agro-pastoral purposes, in view of the dangers they constitute.
-0- PANA SAS/BEH/VAO 24Aug2020
