Army commanders oust leader, seize control in Mauritania
NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania – Army commanders ousted Mauritania’s first freely elected president in two decades Wednesday after an increasingly bitter political fight over his ties to allies of a reviled former dictator and his overtures to Islamic radicals.
In a bloodless coup, troops detained President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, seized control over state radio and television and announced the formation of a new “state council” led by the commander of the presidential guard, Gen. Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz.
The junta issued no further statements at the time, but early today the coup leaders said they plan to hold free and open elections as soon as possible, but did not set a date.
In a statement read on national television, the junta said the West African nation would be governed during the interim by the council, describing it as an 11-member group of military commanders.
The coup – which drew widespread international condemnation – reflected the internal struggle over how to manage this desperately poor desert nation that straddles the Arab and African worlds and is Africa’s newest, if small-scale, oil producer.
Troubles began early Wednesday when Abdallahi fired Aziz and three other top generals, reportedly for supporting lawmakers who had accused him of corruption and disagreed with his reaching out to Islamic militants that previous governments cracked down on.
As troops gained control of broadcast outlets, Abdallahi was detained by presidential guard units and held at the palace compound – a grandiose, whitewashed complex in the sandy coastal capital, Nouakchott. His spokesman, Abdoulaye Mamadou Ba, said soldiers also detained Prime Minister Yahya Ould Ahmed Waqef.
“He fired the generals and that is his constitutional right. This is a coup d’etat against democracy,” Ba told the Associated Press.