To try to unravel it, Mali's Foreign Minister, in a large delegation, will lead an embassy mission today and tomorrow Friday to Nouakchott.

It should be noted that Mauritanian authorities have accused the Malian army of "recurring crimes" against their nationals, following the disappearance of several dozen Mauritanian herders on Malian soil over the past two months. Bamako is not holding back to shed light on this puzzle of herders missing from the borderlands between Mauritania and Mali. And for good reason! In these times of ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) sanctions against it, Mauritania is a true lifeline for Mali.

In Bamako, several newspapers, such as L'Essor, report that Colonel Assimi Goïta, President of the Transition, exchanged with his Mauritanian counterpart, Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, and this newspaper merely reports the presidency communiqué stating Mali's desire to "undertake vigorous actions to further strengthen fraternity and cooperation (with Mauritania), particularly in the area of managing (the shared border), defense and security of persons and property". In this communiqué, Mali's transitional authorities condemn "energetically these criminal acts" and find, "once again, troubling the occurrence of this kind of unfortunate incident", points out L'Essor.

The Bamako-Nouakchott lifeline

This matter, in any case, is also troubling part of the press… in the sub-region as well as in France. In its article, in Burkina Faso, Wakat Séra reports on "the mystery of the disappeared at the border". For the stakes are high, points out this Ouagadougou daily, "with Guinea, Mauritania and its port has become a true breath of fresh air for Mali, a landlocked country without a coastline, whose leaders have embarked on a confrontation with the international community". So? "The sooner light is shed on these disappearances of Mauritanian herders, the better it will be for Mali, which cries foul at the conspiracy orchestrated by offices that would view its relations with Mauritania unfavorably", explains Wakat Sera.

Beware, warns, in France, the website Mondafrique, "a falling out with Mauritania would be for the military junta (in Mali) a real way of shooting itself in the foot". As this online newspaper highlights, "these tensions come at the worst possible moment. Mauritania, whose army is one of the Sahel's most effective, is a country bordering Mali, but has never been a member of ECOWAS, this regional organization that condemned the coup in Bamako. Mauritania therefore does not implement the sanctions put in place by ECOWAS last January. The port of Nouakchott, under these circumstances, now constitutes an essential access route for Mali", emphasizes Mondafrique.

Deadly Ivorian building collapses

Two buildings collapsed in Côte d'Ivoire, two more, thirteen dead in two weeks. At the very least… And this surprising article from L'Observateur Paalga. Choosing to make light of it, this Burkinabè daily ironizes on "our ancestors the Gauls (who) had a great fear: that the sky would fall on their heads. It is true that in their time, they did not think about the roofs of their houses, multi-story constructions were not exactly common, to say the least, indeed they did not exist. For us Africans, in these current times, the great fear is that a building will collapse on us". L'Observateur Paalga, however, points out "the quicksands of corruption" in this affair…