 A delegation from the African Union has arrived in Mauritania to urge leaders of last week's coup to restore constitutional order to this oil-rich nation.
| While they're there, I hope they asked the colonels or generals or whatever they are to overthrow that guy in Niger, too... |
The 53-nation body condemned the 3 August coup and suspended Mauritania's membership of the organisation, but has stopped short of calling for exiled President Maaouiya Sid Ahmed Ould Taya to be restored to office. Taya, who had ruled since a 1984 coup, was widely unpopular and most Mauritanians welcomed his ousting. The African Union (AU) delegation includes Nigerian Foreign Minister Oluyemi Adeniji, South African Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula and an official of the African Union Commission. They are expected to meet the newly declared president, Colonel Ely Ould Mohamed Vall, and other leaders of last week's coup.
Nigeria holds the chairmanship of the AU, and South Africa is this month's head of the organisation's Peace and Security Council. Speaking in an interview on Monday broadcast on the Arabic news channel Al-Arabiya, Taya vowed he would return to power and called on his country's armed forces to reverse the coup. Taya issued orders "in my capacity as president of the republic to the armed forces to restore the natural order and put an end to this crime. I am determined to return to Nouakchott to continue the job of building our nation."
| I hate to say this, but I think you've been fired. |
Taya on Tuesday left the west African state of Niger where he had been given refuge and headed for The Gambia, an aide of Niger President Mamadou Tandja said. Taya, who was toppled by top army brass while he was abroad on Wednesday, left for Banjul, the capital of the tiny West African state, he added. The Gambia, a narrow strip of land that is surrounded on three sides by Senegal, is an English-speaking state that does not have a border with Mauritania. |