Mauritania's armed forces have set up a military council to rule the country and end the "totalitarian" regime of President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya, a statement broadcast on state media said on Wednesday.
The communiqué, signed by a "Military Council for Justice and Democracy", said the council would rule the Islamic Republic for a maximum of two years. Taya is out of the country.
"The armed forces and security forces have unanimously decided to put a definitive end to the totalitarian activities of the defunct regime under which our people have suffered so much over recent years," the statement said.
"This council pledges before the Mauritanian people to create favourable circumstances for an open and transparent democracy," it said.
Witnesses said earlier that green-bereted members of Taya's guard had taken over state television and radio. Gunfire rang out briefly near the presidency building and the airport was closed.
An opposition leader and a military source said they believed the head of the presidential guard, Colonel Mohamed Ould Abdel-Aziz, was involved in the apparent coup d'etat.
Taya, who attended the funeral of Saudi Arabia's King Fahd in Riyadh on Tuesday, arrived in Niger's capital Niamey hours after news of the troop movements in Nouakchott emerged.
There were reports that some senior members of the military had been arrested but it was not possible to confirm them.
Taya seized power in a 1984 coup. He has angered many Arabs in the country by shifting support from former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to Israel and Washington in the 1990s.
Mauritania - which hopes to start pumping oil early next year - is one of only three Arab League member states that have established diplomatic ties with Israel.
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