Weld al-Taye surprised by the coupe, says it is foolish

The toppled Mauritanian President Mu'aweya Weld Seidi Ahmad al-Taye said in his first statement following the military coupe which overthrown him on Wednesday that he was surprised by the coupe against him, and his surprise was greater when he found out the identity of those who implemented it. A reference to the members of his government inner circle that were involved in the coupe.

From his current residence in Niger, Taye described the coupe which toppled him from Mauritania presidency as the most "foolish and dramatic" in Africa.

In statements to the French radio, Weld al-Taye defended the era of his presidency to the country which extended for 21 years, and said that this period prepared the country for a promising period in all political, economic and social fields. He indicated that Mauritania under his rule was a peaceful country of multi democratic rule.

According to a military source, the wife of the former president was permitted on Thursday to return back to the presidential palace to collect her personal and family belongings.

The wife of Weld al-Taye, Aesha Bint Ahmad Tulba, joined her husband in Niger's capital. She left Nouakchott in an ordinary flight for the Mauritanian airlines together with four of her children in addition to servants.

The Mauritanian military council which was formed following the coupe announced desolving the parliament, while chairman of the council met with the ambassadors of the US and France and promised to hand over the authority to an elected government.