LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Mauritania: Western Sahara
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From the fifth to seventh centuries, the migration of Berber tribes from North Africa displaced the Bafours, the original inhabitants of present-day Mauritania and the ancestors of the Soninke. The Bafours were primarily agriculturalist, and among the first Saharan people to abandon their historically nomadic lifestyle. With the gradual desiccation of the Sahara, they headed south. Following them came a migration of not only Central Saharans into West Africa, but in 1076, Moorish Islamic warrior monks (Almoravid or Al Murabitun) attacked and conquered the ancient Ghana Empire. Over the next 500 years, Arabs overcame fierce resistance from the local population (Berber and non-Berber alike) and came to dominate Mauritania. The Mauritanian Thirty-Year War (1644-74) was the unsuccessful final effort to repel the Yemeni Maqil Arab invaders led by the Beni Hassan tribe.
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Nouakchott is the political capital of Mauritania and is often called as the sand capital. The Sahara gives it last breath in this city right before it ends to the Atlantic Ocean. Nouadhibou is the economical capital of the country located in the North, bordering with the dangerous and forbidden landmined territory of Western Sahara. Nouadhibou is a paradise for Mafia groups for all over the world where along with some extreme religious groups that arrive in the last months of 2001 make it quite hostile and hard city to live in. Slavery still makes part of daily life and smugglers come and go across the border. Mauritania suffered several coup d'etats finally being successful changing its government in last July 2005.
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A seasoned former minister will face a veteran opposition icon in a second round of presidential election in Mauritania on 25/03/07 in the final stage of a handover to civilian rule by a military junta. The deciding presidential run-off in the Saharan state follows an inconclusive first round on March 11 and carries the hopes of a country keen to break with a past of poverty, coups and authoritarian rule. It will seal a promised transfer to civilian democracy by military officers who seized power in a bloodless 2005 coup that toppled President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya.
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There are reports of unexploded landmines in the area of Mauritania bordering Western Sahara. Mines have been known to shift in sandstorms. You should not stray from well-travelled roads. Banditry is a major problem in the border areas with Western Sahara, Mali and Algeria.
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A schism developed between those who considered Mauritania to be an Arab country (mainly Moors) and those who sought a dominant role for the Sub-Saharan peoples. The discord between these two conflicting visions of Mauritanian society was evident during intercommunal violence that broke out in April 1989 (the "1989 Events").
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Western Sahara