Mauritania, 1982 — dissident coup attempt
Event Summary
The dataset records an attempted dissident coup in Mauritania on 6 February 1982 against the military government of President Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla, less than a year after he had survived the March 1981 coup attempt. Haidalla's rule remained precarious, threatened by rival factions within the ruling Military Committee for National Salvation, by the fallout from the Western Sahara conflict, and by opposition figures backed from abroad. In February 1982 a further plot against him was uncovered, reportedly led by former heads of state and senior officers, including his predecessors Mustapha Ould Salek and Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Louly, who were accused of conspiring to overthrow the government.
The plotters were arrested before they could act, and Haidalla used the affair to purge suspected opponents and tighten his grip. He survived this and further challenges but was finally overthrown in December 1984, while abroad, by his own army chief of staff and prime minister, Colonel Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed Taya, who went on to rule Mauritania for two decades.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Sources
Editorial Note
Cross-Reference
Datasets agree. At least two of the three reference datasets we check against carry this event, and none of them disagrees about its date or its result.
Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:
- Cline Center id
43502061982- Albrecht/Koehler/Schutz (CAM) id
CAM-435-1982-02-06
How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.
Outcome and Target
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: President Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla uncovered and crushed the February 1982 plot, but was overthrown in 1984.
Baseline coding: Coup attempt failed to remove the incumbent. Recorded leader fate: remained in office; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.
Baseline Dataset Citation
Baseline Source-Document Entries
CSP
The Guardian
LA Times
This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →