Members of the Mehariste National Guard patrolling the Hodh Ech Chargui region of Mauritania. Heirs of units created under French rule, these desert cavalrymen have regained a central role in the security strategy of this West African country. — AFP
A POSSE of turban-clad soldiers perched on “ships of the desert” may conjure images of the past, but Mauritania’s camelback cavalry play a vital role in the fight against insurgents today.
They are the Meharists, heirs to the camel-riding army units founded back in the time when imperialist France ruled over the west African nation.
