|
Gunfire heard in Mauritanian
capital as troops surround radio
Mauritanian president arrives in Niger after
soldiers surround state radio
File photo: Mauritanian
President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya (Xinhua/AFP
photo) | DAKAR, Aug. 3
(Xinhuanet) -- Mauritanian army troops, including members of the presidential
guard, seized control of the state radio and television in the capital early
Wednesday while President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya was out of the country,
according to reports reaching here from Nouakchott.
The presidential guard troops cut state media
broadcasts. Heavily armed soldiers deployed in force on the streets of
Nouakchott, and around ministerial offices and the presidency. However no
gunfire or violence was reported in the city, the reports said.
File photo: Mauritanian
army troops (Xinhua/AFP photo) |
President Taya, who has survived several coup
attempts during his 20-year reign, has cracked down ruthlessly against
opponents,including members of the army, jailing scores of people accused of
plotting to overthrow him.
Mauritania, a sparsely populated nation of 3 million
on the northwest edge of Africa, is strictly regulated by Taya who took power in
a 1984 military coup. Enditem |
Breaking
News 
