I've been surfing the web and reading up on the situation in Mauritania. Luckily I read/speak Arabic, so I can get different points of views.
Apparently the Mauri government is desperate to be taken off the travel warnings list, especially the French Foreign Offices list, as they're keenly aware of the consequences of being on it.
Tourism has plummeted just as they wanted to expand the sector. Every news article has some Mauritania government official telling how safe the country is and how terrorism has been suppressed, and they're campaigning hard with the French to change the country's status. Officials from the Mauritania ministry of tourism have also participated in fairs/expos to draw attention to what the country has to offer.
Personally I'd take everything with a grain of salt. I don't believe the Mauritania government painting a perfectly safe picture, just as i don't take our governments travel warnings literally. Sometimes the foreign offices use the broadest red paintbrush they have on the country maps.
On another note, I found this article in Arabic about rumors with AQIM striking a deal with the Mauritanian government.
Found a English version too. Thought some of you might find it interesting.
http://reut.rs/1oMv6f0
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