Army officers in Mauritania overthrow president in an apparently bloodless coup

NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania — A military junta overthrew Mauritania's U.S.-allied president on Wednesday, saying it would temporarily rule this oil-rich Islamic nation that had looked increasingly to the West as the government raised fears of a growing threat from al-Qaida linked militants.

President Maaoya Sid'Ahmed Taya, who himself seized power in a coup two decades ago, was out of the country when presidential guard troops took control of the national radio and television stations earlier Wednesday, cutting broadcasts and seizing a building housing the army chief of staff headquarters.

Taya, who has allied himself with the United States in the war on terror and cracked down ruthlessly on opponents he accuses of being Islamic extremists, refused comment after arriving Wednesday in nearby Niger from Saudi Arabia, where he attended King Fahd's funeral.

The opposition and some international groups have accused Taya of exaggerating the threat of Islamic extremism in his nation to gain diplomatic support.

The U.S. military has sent special operations troops to train Mauritania's army, most recently in June as part of an anti-terror campaign in Africa.

After the coup was announced, most shops and offices remained closed, but hundreds of people celebrated in the capital of Nouakchott, saluting soldiers guarding the presidential palace, clapping and singing slogans in Arabic against Taya.

"It's the end of a long period of oppression and injustice," said Fidi Kane, a civil servant. "We are very delighted with this change of regime."

African leaders, however, condemned the power grab, saying the days of autocracy and military rule must give way to democracy across the continent.

"As far as we are concerned, the days of tolerating military governance in our sub-region or anywhere are long gone," said Femi Fani-Kayode, a spokesman for Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo. "We believe in democracy and we insist on democracy."

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan also condemned "any attempt to change the government of any country unconstitutionally," according to a statement.

The group of Mauritanian army officers, which identified itself as the Military Council for Justice and Democracy, announced the coup in a statement to the state-run news agency.

"The armed forces have unanimously decided to put an end to the totalitarian practices of the deposed regime under which our people have suffered much over the last several years," the statement said.

The junta said it would exercise power for up to two years to allow time to put in place "open and transparent" democratic institutions.