Mauritanian government closes a daily over criticizing ties with Israel

The Mauritanian government which has been facing a strong long opposition because of its diplomatic relations with Israel, banned the release of the independent weekly al-Alaam ( the banners).

The paper's director general Muhammad Mahmoud Wild Baker said that the Mauritanian ministry of the Interior did not give any explanations on the reason behind this measure taken by the government to banning the issuance of the paper.

He added that his paper which is issued in Arab and French is a moderate daily.

However, political sources in Nouakchott said that it is probable that the reason behind banning the paper goes back to that it has covered the internal political objections against Mauritania's political relations with israel.

Meantime, the independent national media league has denounced the banning of the paper and called for canceling the decision taken for this effect.