Mauritania

Coup leaders free prime minister

Article published on the 2008-08-12 Latest update 2008-08-12 17:02 TU

Yahya Ould Ahmed Waghf.
(Photo : AFP)

Mauritania's deposed prime minister has been released from house arrest five days after he was imprisoned in a military coup. The country's military junta has been under mounting international pressure for ousting democratically elected President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, as former colonial ruler France froze development aid.

Addressing a rally of several thousand people, Prime Minister Yahya Ould Ahmed Waghf said that his countrymen would not accept the coup.

Three other seized officials were released with the sacked premier. But in a sign that power remains with the military, the junta refused to free the president.

Gihbril Gigo, is from the UFP, one of the four opposition parties which called the rally. He told RFI that the coup is not legitimate and that the international community should intervene.

"Diplomatic pressure on Mauritania - this is the best way to force military to leave," he said. "They have to fight, to fight with us."

Pro-coup Ahmed Ould Sid'ahmed was the former Foreign Affairs Minister under the transitional government of Ely Ould Mohamed Vall.

"Any coup anywhere is a regression. But if you have to regress to move forward, that's a price you have to pay. Democracy is not an end...just do what they want to do...this President didn't even manage to go along with his own majority," he told RFI.

 

France has followed in the footsteps of the United States to cut off more than 13 million euros in aid. The European Union has threatened to do the same, while the African Union suspended Mauritania from the 53-nation body because of the military takeover.