06/10/2008
Mauritanian police fired tear gas and used batons to disperse an anti-coup demonstration Sunday (October 5th) near the main hospital in Nouakchott, international press reported. Protesters shouted slogans against the military dictatorship and in support of ousted President Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdellahi before paramilitary gendarmes used force to end the rally. Local news agency ANI reported concurrent protests at several other locations in Nouakchott, including a mosque.
Mauritanian opposition National Front for the Defence of Democracy (FNDD) called Sunday's protest despite a new ban on all demonstrations announced last week by Prime Minister Moulaye Ould Laghdaff. The protest comes one day before a deadline set by the African Union (AU) for Mauritania to reinstate the former president or else face economic sanctions and isolation.
In related news Sunday, Mauritanian police arrested the son of the deposed president, Journal Tahalil reported. Ahmed Ould Cheikh Abdellahi and his wife were released later that day but authorities confiscated their car, reportedly claiming it was state property.