Some 180 Mauritanians arrived in the capital Nouakchott on Saturday after fleeing insecurity in Congo-Brazzaville, PANA said. The returnees had been detained by Ninja militiamen allied to former Congolese Prime Minister Bernard Kolelas after fighting between the militia and government forces began in southern Brazzaville on 18 December. A total of 12 Mauritanians have been killed in the violence, it added. Quoting sources, PANA said there are about 3,000 Mauritanian nationals in the Congo, mainly traders, and that most of them had lost their property in the latest violence. The 180 people had fled Brazzaville aboard an aircraft chartered by a Mauritanian businessman, it added.
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