President Abdallahi detained in Mauritania coup d’etat

A coup d’etat took place in Mauritania today when the Mauritanian President Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi was ousted from power by the top generals he had just fired.

Early in the morning, Abdallahi announced that he was firing several senior army officers, and at 9:20 am he was seized from his home by members of the Presidential Security Battalion (BASEP for Bataillon de la sécurité présidentielle) in a military coup.

President Abdallahi - Marcello Casal Jr./Abr

Presidential spokesman Abdoulaye Mamadouba said in a statement that President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, Prime Minister Yahya Ould Ahmed Waghf, and Interior Minister Mohamed Ould R’zeizim had been arrested by renegade Senior Mauritanian army officers, unknown troops, and a group of generals, and were being held under house arrest at the presidential palace in Nouakchott. Of the apparently successful and bloodless coup d’état, Abdallahi’s daughter, Amal Mint Cheikh Abdallahi said: “The security agents of the BASEP came to our home and took away my father.”

The coup plotters were fired top leaders of Mauritania’s security forces, and included General Muhammad Ould ‘Abd Al-‘Aziz, General Muhammad Ould Al-Ghazwani, General Philippe Swikri, and Brigadier General (Aqid) Ahmad Ould Bakri. State television reported that the country was now being led by a new Military State Council, which would be run by Aziz. The state council said that Abdallahi was now the “former president.”

International reaction

African Union – In a written statement the group immediately condemned the coup: “The African Union…condemns the coup d’Etat and demands the restoration of constitutional legality.”

European Union – The European Commission said in a statement that it “is very concerned by the situation in Mauritania, which puts into question the remarkable democratic progress in this country.” EU Aid and Development Commissioner Louis Michel also said that “this situation could put into question our policy of cooperation with Mauritania,” and could threaten the 156 million euros of aid allocated for Mauritania for 2008-2013.

United States – US State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos said of the coup, “This was a democratically elected, constitutional government and we condemn the act.” The U.S. has also called for the restoration of the overthrown Presient and has stated that it will “follow the lead” of the African Union.