Mauritanian National Gendarmerie
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1960 Ministry of attachment: Ministère de la Défense nationale Workforce: 3 800 General manager: Général de brigade Soultane MOHAMED Ould SOUAD Address: État major de la Gendarmerie nationale de Mauritanie Tél.: (00 222) 45 25 21 16 Fax: (00 222) 45 25 33 95 Email: secrt_CEMGN@gendrim.mr Website: www.gendarmerie.mr Service des Relations Publiques : Colonel Ahmed AMMOU JEDEIN Email: secrt_BERP@gendrim.mr 
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History
Before the independence, the first French Gendarmerie brigade is inaugurated in 1948. From 1958, whereas the Islamic Republic of Mauritania is proclaimed on November 28th, the Rosso Gendarmerie instruction centre trains the first auxiliary gendarmes and officers. The law n° 60.189 of November 25th, 1960 dedicates the Mauritanian National Gendarmerie three days before the declaration of independence, by virtue of the French-Mauritanian agreements on return sovereignty. On November 6th, 1961, the National Gendarmerie takes shape with a staff of 150 auxiliaries including a group and twelve brigades. In order to ensure the President of the Republic and the national and foreign personalities’ security, a group of escort and security is quickly created. The law n° 62.121 of June 18th, 1962 complete and defines more exactly its missions and organization. In 1964, a Mauritanian officer, Lieutenant Cheikh Ould Boide is appointed in order to take the interim command of the National Gendarmerie. Over the years, this strength fills out and asserts itself with the administrative, judicial and military authorities.
Organization
The Mauritanian National Gendarmerie depends on the Ministry of Defence.
Central Organization
A general staff with at the head a Chief of staff assisted by a warrant officer. It includes:
• 6 offices: Human resources Office (HRO), Analyses & Coordination Office (ACO), Operations Instruction and Employment Office (OIEO), Barracks Office (BO), Central Tracing Office (CTO), Research and Public Relations Office (RPRO);
• 2 directions: National Gendarmerie Administrative Centre (NGAC) and the Technical Services Direction (TSD).
Territorial organization
• 4 zones.
• 14 companies.
• 66 territorial brigades.
• 8 posts.
Specialized Training
• The Gendarmerie anti-riot unit structured in 3 Groups of Gendarmerie Mobile Squadron of Gendarmes (GMSG): 1st GMSG in Nouakchott (7 squadrons), 2nd GMSG in Nouadhibou (3 squadrons) and 3rd GMSG in Wad Naga (3 squadrons).
• The Group of Security and Intervention of the National Gendarmerie (GSINN).
• The Group of Squadron of Escort and Security (GSES).
• The Air Transportation Gendarmerie Company: airport watch over and surveillance (ATGC).
• The maritime and river brigades.
• The Brigades of Judicial Researches (BJR) or Criminal Investigation Units.
• The Dog/Canine group.
• The customs brigade.
• The social structures (Gendarme National Box and the health centres).
Missions
The Mauritanian National Gendarmerie is a strength established in order to ensure on the whole territory of the Republic and the armies the public security, the protection of the properties, the maintenance of law and order and the execution of the laws. A continuous and repressive surveillance constitutes the essence of its service.
It is an integral part of national armed forces beside the land forces, the Air Force and the navy. Its organization is fixed by decree (N° 67-271 of November 04th, 1967). It ensures diverse missions:
• judicial missions: (Criminal investigations, findings of offences, research and arrest of the authors of penal breach of the law, technical and scientific police);
• administrative missions (Public security, maintenance of law and order, permanent surveillance of roads and highways);
• missions with military character – provost ship & military police missions).
Staff
The Mauritanian National Gendarmerie accounts 3 500 men distributed over the whole territory. Regarding recruitment, the non-commissioned officers’ candidates, from 18 to 25 years old, are recruited by competitions at the "French General Certificate Secondary Education" (GCSE) level. Those who are selected, receive a one-year training (6 months of military training - 6 months of vocational training).
The officers’ candidates, from 20 to 22 years old, are recruited on competitions at the High School Diploma level + 2 or on title (Engineer); minimum age being 20 years; and Maximum age being ? They are attending a three-year training course to the Altar "Joint Arms Military Academy" (JAMA), a one-year implementation training course in the French "Ecole des Officiers de la Gendarmerie Nationale" (EOGN) in Melun (France), or in a National Course Regionally Focused (NCRF) in Senegal, Morocco, Algeria or Turkey.
Training institutions
The Gendarmerie Rosso School trains the "pupils gendarmes" (the volume of the pupils who integrate the school every year is variable in order to correspond to the available vacancies - maximum capacity of the school: 450 pupils a year). The school also has the responsibility of:
• the training of criminal investigation police officers empowered to make arrests ("Officier de Policer Judiciaire" in French);
• the retraining of brigade commanders;
• the sensibilization/sensitization of the company commanders to their first employment.
Main equipment
• Armament: Seminov 7.62 NATO - Light machine guns 12.7 - Kalashnikov 7.62 - assault rifle FAMAS 5.56 - Automatic Pistol Herstal Five-Seven FN 7.5X28 - Revolver Manurhin MR 88 DX 357 magnum – PKMS - RPG7.
• Vehicles: Pick-up (Toyota, Toyota Prado Land Cruiser, Toyota Hilux doubles cabin, Toyota GX V8, Acmat VLRA) - troop transportation (van-coach Mercedes, sedan BYD typifies F3), motorcycles BMW R 1150RT, Renault Partner modify for Dog Unit transport - unmarked vehicles (Mercedes 190).
• Nautical means: Two 17 meters speedboats – One 8 meters aluminium shell boat.
Cooperation
A defence agreement regarding the technical military cooperation is signed between France and Mauritania on April 27th, 1986. The agreement provides for the deployment of technical military volunteers. On August 20th, 2012 later more than ten years of absence, a French Gendarmerie volunteer becomes again the chief of staff of the Mauritanian National Gendarmerie chief of staff’s adviser.
© The iconography was provided by the concerned gendarmeries