Mauritania is considered an island of stability in a rough neighbourhood. Spillovers from latent and manifest conflicts threaten at its northern, southern, and eastern borders. The manifest conflicts at the eastern and southeast borders with Mali connect Mauritania to hubs of violent extremist groups, transnational crime, and illicit trafficking networks spanning across the Sahel and North Africa. The country experiences profound social, economic, and demographic mutations that rejuvenate generational conflicts and tensions. The depths of existing social fissures and socio-political tensions, pose conjugated challenges to Mauritania’s relative immunity to violent extremist attacks since 2012.

Key drivers of violent extremism in the Sahel include high levels of youth unemployment, recurring farmer-herder conflicts, and persistent governance-related grievances. Terrorist and violent extremist groups exploit these vulnerabilities by promoting narratives of injustice and offering protection in exchange for loyalty, thereby further destabilising already fragile communities.  GCERF began investing in the country in 2024 and till date USD 3 million has been invested to address these drivers of violent extremism.