Coup ousts West-leaning leader of Mauritania

Americans in Mauritania taking precautions
In Washington, State Department spokesman Tom Casey called for "a peaceful return for order under the constitution and the established government of President Taya."

Casey said the U.S. Embassy in Nouakchott had advised American citizens to stay home and take precautions to ensure their safety.

Islamist leaders in Mauritania have led the opposition to Taya, criticizing him for building close ties with Israel. Mauritania opened full diplomatic relations with Israel six years ago.

Israel's 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.

At one point, a short burst of automatic gunfire was heard near the presidential palace, where three anti-aircraft truck batteries were set up at midmorning. No casualties were reported.

Celebration following the coup
After the coup was announced, hundreds of people celebrated in the city center, saluting soldiers guarding the presidential palace, clapping and singing slogans in Arabic against Taya. Most people stayed home, but dozens of civilian cars moved through the streets, horns blaring.

"It's 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 the afternoon, with journalists reading the junta's statement repeatedly, interspersed with Quranic readings — normal in the Islamic nation.

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-Qaida linked insurgents in Algeria.

A June 4 border raid on a remote Mauritanian army post by al-Qaida-linked insurgents sparked a gunbattle that killed 15 Mauritanian troops and nine attackers. Algeria's 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."

ENCARTA MAURITANIA: Maps, facts and figures

The U.S. military has sent special operations troops to train Mauritania's army, most recently in June as part of efforts to deny terrorists sanctuary in the under-policed Sahara desert region.

This sparsely populated nation on the northwestern edge of the Sahara had been strictly controlled by Taya, who tried to legitimize his rule in the 1990s through elections the opposition says were fraudulent.

Offshore oil reserves were recently discovered, and the country is expected to begin pumping crude early next year.

Oil industry analysts said the coup was unlikely to significantly affect global oil prices.

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