AU freezes out Mauritania

2008-08-09 17:18

Addis Ababa - The African Union says it has frozen Mauritania's membership in the wake of a coup in the country.

AU spokesperson El-Ghassim Wane said on Saturday in the Ethiopian capital that membership is automatically frozen in the case of a coup. He says Mauritania remains in the African Union but cannot participate in meetings or votes until it restores constitutional order.

A coup returned military rule to the desert country that held historic elections just last year, its first free and fair ballot in more than 20 years.

Mauritania won international praise for that vote, which saw President Sidi Cheikh Ould Abdallahi emerge as victor after a two-year transition to civilian rule begun with the army's 2005 ouster of a dictator.

- AP