Dicing with Death: Mauritana – Drivers of the Desert

In this acclaimed series, we journey on some of the world’s most dangerous routes and explore the lengths people go to in order to change their destinies. Mauritania is an arid country, home to the Sahara and the Sahel. Getting supplies to forgotten villages far from these oceans of sand is no easy task. The traditional camel caravans, overly demanding of human and animal power, have been replaced by age-old machines.

Mauritania has lived these past 15 years under the threat of a terrorist attack. Certain regions are still to be avoided, but the country is gradually opening back up. The Mauritanian state overcame one war, but now it faces another. That of global warming. Droughts are becoming increasingly severe, sand is advancing even further, engulfing roads and villages. And so, drivers must be weary of certain roads on these age-old machines, trying to avoid terrorist attacks as well as the ruthless “Harmattan” desert wind; which can result in 15-metre-high sand dunes that swallow over hundreds of metres of road.