Internet Shutdowns

Mobile Internet services were suspended in Mauritania on 6 March. The Minister of Equipment and Transport, El Nani Ould Ashrouga, was quoted on 9 March following a cabinet meeting that mobile Internet was suspended as part of measures to recapture four prisoners who had escaped central prison in Nouakchott, capital of Mauritania on 6 March.

“Security trumps everything, and the Internet was cut on mobile networks only for that very reason,” said El Nani Ould Ashrouga. “This service will be restored whenever possible.”

While fixed Internet services remained working, mobile Internet is the primary mode for Mauritanian Internet users.

Internet shutdowns during protests or civil unrest impact citizens’ ability to get accurate information from government sources when they need it most. It also becomes harder for citizens to contact family members and friends in other parts of the country or other countries.

Local journalist Aliya Abass said the internet blackout made her work more difficult than usual. “We did not have access to information, and even when we had a piece of information, we had no way of verifying it.” — the Continent VIA Mail and Guardian

🇲🇷 Mauritania: cutting off mobile internet services is taking a toll on small businesses. Am told by workers in this gas station that their business dropped dramatically. consumers who in normal times carry a lot of transactions with local money transfer apps. pic.twitter.com/Obh3eo6gRZ

— Weddady (@weddady) March 6, 2023

🇲🇷 Mauritania : another sample example of damage to small businesses – a friend who runs a car rental agency stopped renting because the GPS trackers on his car all working via mobile internet can no longer be tracked because of the internet shut down
See the photo below pic.twitter.com/hmFP6UrEuK

— Weddady (@weddady) March 10, 2023

No official cause documentation was made public.