Mauritania was a country in northwest Africa. It was bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the west, by Senegal on the southwest, by Mali on the east and southeast, by Algeria on the northeast, and by the Morocco-controlled Western Sahara on the northwest. It was named after the ancient Berber kingdom of Mauretania. The capital and largest city was Nouakchott, located on the Atlantic coast.

Politics in Mauritania has always been determined by personalities and tribes more than ideologies, with any leader's ability to exercise political power dependent upon control over resources; perceived ability and integrity; and tribal, ethnic, family, and personal considerations.

[source: wikipedia]

And now it is gone...
