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2005-08-04 Africa: North
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Mauritania kicked out of the African Union after coup
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Well, that removes Qaddafi as being among its possible backers ...
The African Union today suspended the membership of Mauritania after yesterday's bloodless military coup deposed President Maaouiya Ould Taya.
The AU Peace and Security Council said that the suspension would remain in place until "constitutional order" is returned to the west African state.
"In light of the coup dâetat that took place on August 3... Mauritaniaâs participation in all AU activities should be suspended until the restoration of constitutional order in the country," the council said in a statement.
Shops and businesses reopened and traffic was flowing again in Mauritaniaâs capital today, just a day after a military junta announced it had toppled the desperately poor west African countryâs president while he was abroad. The international airport in the capital, Nouakchott, also reopened.
Mauritania's fortunes are expected to be transformed next year when the Australian oil company Woodside is due to start pumping oil for the first time from offshore reserves.
The quick return to calm appeared to suggest there was widespread acceptance of President Tayaâs overthrow. Islamic opposition parties celebrated the deposition of a ruler who had looked increasingly to the West, in response to alleged threats from al-Qaeda linked militants with ties to radical groups in Algeria.
"The armed forces have unanimously decided to put an end to the totalitarian practices of the deposed regime under which our people have suffered much over the last several years," the junta statement said. It promised to yield to democratic rule within two years.
The junta, calling itself the Military Council for Justice and Democracy, said that Colonel Ely Ould Mohamed Vall was its president.
This was seen as symbolic of a shift of mood in the country, as Colonel Vall, 55, the national police chief since 1987, was considered a close confidant of Taya for more than two decades and supported him through previous coup attempts.
The junta statement identified 16 other army officers as members. Except for one captain, all are all colonels, the highest rank in the countryâs armed forces.
Meanwhile Mr Taya arrived last night in nearby Niger from Saudi Arabia, where he had been attending King Fahdâs funeral. He made no comment to reporters, but the secretary-general of his political party, Boullah Ould Mogueya, said that it wouldnât recognize "anti-constitutional change".
Mr Taya seized power in a coup in 1984 and dealt ruthlessly with those who opposed him. He has since won two elections, which opponents have either boybotted or dismissed as rigged. He allied his overwhelmingly Muslim nation with the United States in the war on terror, and offended many of his people by opening full diplomatic relations with Israel.
Today Israelâs embassy in Mauritania was operating normally, although security had been tightened as is standard at such times, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said in Israel.
After the coup was announced, hundreds of people celebrated in the city centre, saluting soldiers guarding the presidential palace, clapping and singing slogans in Arabic against Mr Taya. Most people stayed home, but dozens of civilian cars moved through the streets, horns blaring.
"Itâs the end of a long period of oppression and injustice," said Fidi Kane, a civil servant. "We are very delighted with this change of regime."
State television and radio were back on air by yesterday afternoon, with journalists reading the juntaâs statement repeatedly, interspersed with Koranic readings - normal in the Islamic nation.
But abroad there was disapproval. Britain, in its capacity as current president of the European Union, issued a statement today condemning "any attempt to seize power by force" and called for "full respect for democracy, human rights and the rule of law" in Mauritania.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Tom Casey called for "a peaceful return for order under the constitution and the established government of President Taya."
And Nigeria, the most influential country in west Africa, condemned the coup.
"As far as we are concerned, the days of tolerating military governance in our sub-region or anywhere are long gone," said Femi Fani-Kayode, a spokesman for Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo. "We believe in democracy and we insist on democracy."
The AU said it welcomed international condemnation of the apparently bloodless coup in Mauritania and urged concerted action against those behind it.
"Council firmly condemns the coup dâetat in Mauritania on Aug. 3 and demands a prompt restoration of constitutional order," the statement said.
The AU said an African ministerial delegation would be sent to Mauritania "to reiterate the AUâs positions to the perpetrators of the coup dâetat and to engage them on the modalities for a speedy restoration of constitutional order".
Mr Taya had survived several coup attempts, including one in 2003 that led to several days of street fighting in the capital. After that, he jailed scores of members of Muslim fundamentalist groups and the army accused of plotting to overthrow him. His government also has accused opponents of training with al-Qaeda linked insurgents in Algeria.
On June 4, a border raid on a remote Mauritanian army post by al-Qaeda-linked insurgents led to a gunbattle that killed 15 Mauritanian troops and nine attackers. Algeriaâs Salafist Group for Call and Combat claimed responsibility for the attack, saying in a message on a Web site that the assault was "in revenge for our brothers who were arrested in the last round of detentions in Mauritania".
The US military has sent special operations troops to train Mauritaniaâs army, most recently in June as part of efforts to deny terrorists sanctuary in the under-policed Sahara desert region. 
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Posted by Dan Darling 2005-08-04 14:54||
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Posted by mmurray821 2005-08-04 15:17||
2005-08-04 15:17||
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Posted by Omiger Snaviting1691 2005-08-04 15:21||
2005-08-04 15:21||
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Posted by tu3031 2005-08-04 15:47||
2005-08-04 15:47||
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