Officers stage coup in Mauritania

MAURITANIAN army officers overthrew the US-allied president yesterday, saying a military junta would temporarily rule the Islamic nation that has increasingly looked to the West as the government raised fears of a growing threat from al-Qaida linked militants.

Officers stage coup in Mauritania

President Maaoya Sid’Ahmed Taya, who himself seized power in a coup two decades ago, was out of the country when presidential guard troops took control of the national radio and television stations, cutting broadcasts and seizing a building housing the army chief of staff headquarters.

Mr Taya, who has allied himself with the US in the war on terror and cracked down ruthlessly on opponents he accuses of being Islamic extremists, refused comment after arriving yesterday in Niger from Saudi Arabia, where he attended King Fahd’s funeral.

The group of army officers, which identified itself as the Military Council for Justice and Democracy, issued a statement through the state-run news agency.

“The armed forces have unanimously decided to put an end to the totalitarian practices of the deposed regime under which our people have suffered much over the last several years.”

The junta said it would exercise power for up to two years to allow time to put in place “open and transparent” democratic institutions.

Mr Taya, who had survived several coup attempts during his 20-year reign, travelled to a villa in Niger’s capital of Niamey, where officials said he might stay for several days.

Energy analyst Orrin Middleton with Barclays Capital in London said news of the coup could have some impact on oil markets already edgy over concerns about refinery outages and hurricanes, but he did not think it would.

Oil recently was discovered in reserves offshore in Mauritania and the country is expected to begin pumping crude early next year.

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