Nouakchott kicked off the third edition of Francophone Literature Festival on Sunday (December 9th). The festival brings together writers, media professionals and poets from Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Switzerland, France, Senegal and Togo.

The event is due to run until December 14th. The festival kicked off this year's edition under the title "Cry in the Service of Writing" to highlight the human dimension of literature and what writers can do to convey the voice of marginalised and vulnerable categories, Bios Diallo, a Mauritanian poet and journalist and technical manager of the festival, told Magharebia.

"The festival would be open to university and primary school students to develop the literary taste in them and encourage them to read and be open to different cultures," he added.

"The festival represents a rare opportunity for Mauritanians to benefit from it, and that it also enhances cultural openness and symbiosis between North and West African cultures through the meeting of writers from different countries in the region," said Abdi Ould Ajid, the secretary-general at the culture ministry.