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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Troops stage coup in Mauritania | Troops stage coup in Mauritania |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Troops in Mauritania have overthrown the government and say they have formed a state council to rule the country. | |
| President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi and Prime Minister Yahia Ould Ahmed El-Ouakef were held after the president sacked several senior army officers. | |
| Large numbers of soldiers have been seen on the streets, but there have been no reports of fighting. | |
| The country staged free and fair elections in June 2007, two years after a military coup. | |
| However, the country has been gripped by political crisis for a fortnight, after a vote of no confidence in the cabinet. | |
| On Tuesday, 48 MPs walked out of the ruling party. | On Tuesday, 48 MPs walked out of the ruling party. |
| Unusual troop movements | Unusual troop movements |
| Earlier on Wednesday, President Abdallahi replaced several senior army officers, including the head of the presidential guard, Gen Ould Abdelaziz. | Earlier on Wednesday, President Abdallahi replaced several senior army officers, including the head of the presidential guard, Gen Ould Abdelaziz. |
| Shortly afterwards, Gen Abdelaziz led soldiers in a coup against the president. | Shortly afterwards, Gen Abdelaziz led soldiers in a coup against the president. |
| Officials loyal to the general said all the officers sacked by the president had been re-instated. | |
| A statement issued by them also said Mr Abdallahi was no longer president of Mauritania and that Gen Abdelaziz would head the new state council. | |
| The first indications of a military coup came as state television was taken off the air amid reports of unusual troop movements in the capital, Nouakchott. | The first indications of a military coup came as state television was taken off the air amid reports of unusual troop movements in the capital, Nouakchott. |
| The president's daughter, Amal Mint Cheikh Abdallahi, told Reuters news agency that soldiers seized her father at his house at 0920 local time (0920 GMT). | |
| Political instability | Political instability |
| Mauritania is one of the world's poorest nations as well as its newest oil producer. | Mauritania is one of the world's poorest nations as well as its newest oil producer. |
| The desert nation, a former French colony of more than three million people, has been looking to oil revenues to boost its economy. | The desert nation, a former French colony of more than three million people, has been looking to oil revenues to boost its economy. |
| Presidential elections held in 2007 ended a two-year period of military rule - the product of a coup in 2005. | |
| The elections were deemed to have been free and fair and appeared to herald a new era of democracy. | The elections were deemed to have been free and fair and appeared to herald a new era of democracy. |
| Earlier this year, however, the president dismissed the government amid protests over soaring food prices. | Earlier this year, however, the president dismissed the government amid protests over soaring food prices. |
| The cabinet that replaced it has been dogged by instability, lacking the support of a moderate Islamist party and a major opposition group that were in the former government. | The cabinet that replaced it has been dogged by instability, lacking the support of a moderate Islamist party and a major opposition group that were in the former government. |