Mauritania arrests officers as 'plot' uncovered

Mauritania arrested several army officers today after uncovering an alleged assassination plot against President Maaoya Sid’Ahmed Ould Taya, military sources said.

Soldiers in the Arab-dominated desert nation were restricted to barracks nationwide. Normal patrols stopped in the capital, Nouakchott.

Dozens of soldiers with heavy weapons took up positions at the capital’s electricity plant.

Taya has held power since December 1984. He withstood a June 2003 coup attempt that triggered days of fighting in the capital.

Mauritania is overwhelmingly Islamic, and straddles Arab and African worlds on the edge of the Sahara. The country has drawn increased interest internationally with oil exploration offshore.