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Article: Military tightens its grip on power: the military leaders of the coup deposing President Abdallahi claim they are to hold democratic elections, but it is not clear if the army will relinquish its control.(MAURITANIA)
- Article from:
- MEED Middle East Economic Digest
- Article date:
- August 22, 2008
- Author:
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Two weeks after the coup in Mauritania, a new prime minister has been appointed in Nouakchott, but President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi is still being detained and the prospect for a swift return to democratic government looks unlikely.
Coups are nothing new to Mauritania. The coup on 6 August was at least the tenth attempt by the army to take power since the country gained independence from France in 1960. Not all coup attempts have been successful, but even if this one is not reversed, there can be little confidence it will be the last.
Military influence
It is just three years since the previous coup that unseated Maaouya Ould Taya after 21 ...