NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania (AFP) — Mauritania's prime minister Yahya Ould Ahmed Waghf was freed Monday, five days after being seized by troops who overthrew president Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, a source close to the ousted premier said.
"The prime minister was freed Monday afternoon along with three other government officials. I understand that only the president is still being held," Mohamed Ould Maayouf, a spokesman for the prime minister, told AFP.
The president, the prime minister and Interior Minister Mohamed Ould R'Zeizi were arrested by the troops who overthrew the government last week.
Two other officials, considered to be close allies of the president, were also held: Moussa Fall, the director of the national agency for the reinsertion of Mauritanian refugees from Senegal and Mali and Ahmed Ould Sidi Baba, the vice president of the ruling PNDD party. Now all but the president have been freed.
According to security sources Abdallahi is held in a villa on the grounds of the Nouakchott congress centre.
In an interview with AFP Sunday junta leader General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz said the president and his allies were being held "for their security and the security of the country".
Last Wednesday troops led by Ould Abdel Aziz, the former head of the presidential guard, overthrew Abdallahi after he tried to sack the army's top brass but promised to hold elections quickly.
Source: AFP
NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania (AFP) — Mauritania's prime minister Yahya Ould Ahmed Waghf was freed Monday, five days after being seized by troops who overthrew president Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, a source close to the ousted premier said.
"The prime minister was freed Monday afternoon along with three other government officials. I understand that only the president is still being held," Mohamed Ould Maayouf, a spokesman for the prime minister, told AFP.
The president, the prime minister and Interior Minister Mohamed Ould R'Zeizi were arrested by the troops who overthrew the government last week.
Two other officials, considered to be close allies of the president, were also held: Moussa Fall, the director of the national agency for the reinsertion of Mauritanian refugees from Senegal and Mali and Ahmed Ould Sidi Baba, the vice president of the ruling PNDD party. Now all but the president have been freed.
According to security sources Abdallahi is held in a villa on the grounds of the Nouakchott congress centre.
In an interview with AFP Sunday junta leader General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz said the president and his allies were being held "for their security and the security of the country".
Last Wednesday troops led by Ould Abdel Aziz, the former head of the presidential guard, overthrew Abdallahi after he tried to sack the army's top brass but promised to hold elections quickly.
Source: AFP
