Mauritania coup kingpin held

2004-10-09 21:37

Nouakchott, Mauritania - Authorities said on Saturday they arrested the alleged ringleader of a string of foiled coup and assassination attempts against Mauritania's leaders.

Saleh Ould Hanenna, a former army officer, was believed to have fled the west African nation after leading a June 2003 takeover attempt that sparked deadly gunfights in the capital, but returned in recent weeks, officials said.

Authorities arrested Ould Hanenna on Saturday afternoon in the southern town of Rosso, near the border with Senegal, a top military official said on condition of anonymity.

Fighting in the failed 2003 putsch left 15 dead and 69 wounded, by official count, before loyalists established order in the capital, Nouakchott.

Authorities also blamed Ould Hanenna for more recent alleged plans against the government of President Maaoya Sid'Ahmed Ould Taya, including an August plot to assassinate Ould Taya and a September plan to explode bombs around Nouakchott before seizing power.

Opposition leaders accused the government of orchestrating the 2003 coup as a pretext for purging the military and cracking down on political opponents.

Officials said recently that Ould Hanenna had been travelling with false identity papers indicating he was a citizen of neighbouring Mali, and had recently visited Burkina Faso and Libya.

Mauritania has accused both Libya and Burkina Faso of backing the August and September plots, a charge the two countries denied.

Ould Taya has held power in the oil-rich nation since December 1984, when he took control in a military coup.

- AP