Battle rages in apparent Mauritania coup bid

STREET battles raged through Mauritania’s capital yesterday in an apparent coup against a pro-Israel president who has cracked down on Islamists, and residents said rebel soldiers had entered his office.

Heavy gunfire continued around the city centre as a column of smoke rose into the sky above the president’s palace.

It was the most serious threat President Maaouya Ould Sid’Ahmed Taya has faced since taking power in a 1984 coup.