Mauritania–Senegal border

The north bank

Both countries were French colonies in French West Africa. A decree of 8 December 1933 fixed the present line along the right, or north, bank of the Senegal River from the Falémé confluence to channels just north of Saint-Louis, and then across the Langue de Barbarie sand spit to the sea, so the river itself lies in Senegal. Senegal became independent in 1960 as part of the short-lived Mali Federation, and Mauritania on 19 October 1960.^[1]

The valley is a fairly clear dividing line between the Moors, of mixed Arab and Berber descent, to the north and black African peoples to the south; the farming Tukulor live along both banks. The river floods in late summer and is navigable to Podor all year.^[1]

“follows the right or north bank of the Senegal (river) for the remainder of the distance”^[1]

1989

In April 1989 a dispute over grazing rights between Mauritanian herders and Senegalese farmers at the border erupted into communal violence in Dakar and Nouakchott, and the two countries agreed to repatriate each other’s citizens. Human Rights Watch reported that the Mauritanian government used the process to expel 40,000 to 50,000 black Mauritanians, many taken to the river and sent across by canoe, and described it as part of long-standing repression of the black population; the government presented the conflict as a purely international affair.^[2]

In 2005 about 20,000 Mauritanian refugees were still living on the Senegalese side, most in villages between Richard Toll and Bakel. A Mauritanian embassy spokesperson said everyone who wished to return had done so.^[3]