at and killing two Senegalese peasants, as well as seriously injuring several more while taking a dozen Senegalese prisoner. As a result, people on the Senegalese southern bank rioted. In Senegal, many shopkeepers were Mauritanian, and from 21 to 24 April, the shops of Mauritanian traders in Senegal where looted and burned. In addition, there were reports of professional Mauritanians being burned alive in their furnaces using spits, while others were beheaded. The end of April saw riots in Nouakchott and other Mauritanian cities with hundreds of Senegalese being killed or otherwise injured. Both countries began expelling the nationals of the other on 28 April, resulting in further reprisals in both countries. At this time, the official figure for the number of casualties in the conflict stood at 6. Many Black Mauritanians were killed by the Muritanian police. The genocide of many Black Mauritanian happened. Expulsions Repatriation was done with the help of French, Algerian, Moroccan, and Spanish flights. A state of emergency and curfew were introduced in the Dakar region to prevent further violence. Senegalese President Abdou Diouf used the Senegalese army to protect the Mauritanian nationals who were being rounded up and expelled. In all 160,000 Mauritanians, the majority of them in Senegal, were repatriated. Lynch mobs and police brutality in Mauritania resulted in the forced exile of about 70,000 southerners to Senegal, despite most of them having no links to the country. About 250,000 people fled their homes as both sides engaged in cross-border raids. Hundreds of people died in both countries. Severing of diplomatic relations The Senegal-Mauritanian border closed and diplomatic relations between the two countries were broken on 21 August 1989. The Organisation of African Unity tried to negotiate a settlement to reopen the border, but it was ultimately an initiative of Senegalese President Abdou Diouf which led to a treaty being signed on July 18, 1991. The treaty helped result in the re-established of relations, which took place in April 1992, and the border was reopened on 2 May 1992. Mauritanian refugees slowly trickled back into the country during the following years. The armed black nationalist Mauritanian movement African Liberation Forces of Mauritania is based in northern Senegal. Aftermath The departure of massive numbers of people lead to an incredible disruption in the balance of the Senegal river valley, causing a decline in agricultural production and an increase in deforestation. In Mauritania the construction