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Army Seizes Power in Mauritania

African nation's first democratically elected president captive

By Dustin Lushing,  Newser Staff

Posted Aug 6, 2008 9:38 AM CDT

(Newser) – Soldiers in the West African nation of Mauritania mounted a coup d'etat today, arresting the president and prime minister and shutting down state radio and television, the Guardian reports. Troops entered the capital and apprehended Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, the country’s first democratically elected president, after he began taking steps to remove generals accused of provoking political crisis.

"The president has just been arrested by a commando, who came to fetch him, arrested him here and took him away," said the daughter of Abdallahi, who was taken prisoner along with Prime Minister Yahya Ould Ahmed Waghf. "This is a real coup d'etat."

Members of the military seized control in Mauritania today.
Members of the military seized control in Mauritania today.   (Getty Images)
Mauritanian President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdellahi, seen here in a 2007 file photo, was seized today in a coup led by the former head of his official guard.
Mauritanian President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdellahi, seen here in a 2007 file photo, was seized today in a coup led by the former head of his official guard.   (AP Photo)
Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi became Mauritania's first democratically elected president in a 2007 election.
Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi became Mauritania's first democratically elected president in a 2007 election.   (AP Photo)
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