The presidential motorcade of Mauritania’s President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani reportedly had an accident on Thursday when returning from the Tindouf border crossing into Algeria. One of the President’s guards died, and another personal bodyguard was injured. Both guards were hospitalized in Tindouf.
Algerian media reported that the Mauritanian President and the Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune had inaugurated joint projects in Tindouf on Thursday.
The Mauritanian Information Agency (AMI) reported that the projects include two border posts between Algeria and Mauritania, a foundation stone of the Algerian-Mauritanian free zone, and the start of construction on a road connecting Tindouf in Algeria and Zouerate in Mauritania.
AMI also said that El Ghazouani returned to Nouakchott on Thursday evening from Tindouf, following a “friendly working visit” to the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, without providing any information about the incident.
Typically, roads through which presidential motorcades pass are subject to strict security. Algerian authorities have not revealed the circumstances of the alleged accident. There has been speculation about the crash being the result of an assassination attempt.