Mauritania, 2003 — military coup attempt

Event Summary

On 8 to 9 June 2003 a violent coup was attempted in Mauritania against President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya, led by Major Saleh Ould Hanenna at the head of a rebel section of the army, unleashing two days of heavy fighting in the capital Nouakchott before it was put down. Taya, a colonel who had ruled since his own 1984 coup, had alienated many Mauritanians through his repression of opposition and Islamist movements, his military purges, and his controversial foreign policy, including his alignment with the United States in the war on terrorism and his establishment of full diplomatic relations with Israel, one of only a handful of Arab states to do so. The rebels seized parts of Nouakchott and battled loyalist forces in fighting that left around fifteen dead, and Taya was reportedly forced to flee his palace and take refuge before troops loyal to him regained control and defeated the putsch.

Taya survived, went on to win a disputed presidential election that November, and cracked down on suspected plotters. Hanenna escaped and formed a rebel group before his eventual capture. But Taya's rule was living on borrowed time; he was finally overthrown in a bloodless coup in August 2005.