NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania — The general who masterminded Africa’s latest coup appeared in public for the first time Thursday, leading a triumphal march on the streets of Mauritania’s capital and declaring he is “determined to save democracy” in the Islamic nation.
Elsewhere in Nouakchott, police fired tear gas at protesters opposed to the change of power a day earlier that put Gen. Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz in control.
The country just last year held its first free and fair ballot in more than 20 years, electing President Sidi Cheikh Ould Abdallahi. On Wednesday, military officers took Abdallahi prisoner.
Late Thursday, Aziz reiterated that elections will be held “as soon as possible.” Until then, he said, the country will be ruled by an 11-member “state council” made up of top military officers headed by him.
