1981 Mauritanian coup attempt

1981 Mauritanian coup d'état attempt

A CIA WFB map of Mauritania
Date	16 March 1981
Location	Nouakchott, Mauritania
Type	Military coup
Motive	Regime change
Target	Presidential Palace, Nouakchott
Organised by	Ahmed Salim Ould Sidi Mohamed Abdelkader
Participants	Faction within the Armed Forces / AMD movement
Outcome	Coup fails Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla and CMSN remains in power.

The 1981 Mauritanian coup attempt was a violent coup attempt in Mauritania which took place on 16 March 1981. ^[1]

The coup attempt, staged by elements of the military and opposition Alliance for a Democratic Mauritania (AMD) movement, was led by Lieutenant-Colonel Ahmed Salim Ould Sidi and Lieutenant-Colonel Mohamed Abdelkader, and resulted in heavy fighting in the capital Nouakchott, before conspirators were defeated by troops loyal to the Head of State (CMSN chairman), Colonel Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla. ^[2]

Abdelkader (former Air Force commander) and Sidi (former CMSN Vice-chairman) were both subsequently executed after the coup attempt. ^{[2] [3]}

On 25 April, Haidalla and the CMSN decided to replace the fledgling civilian government of Sid'Ahmed Ould Bneijara (appointed on 12 December 1980) ^[3] with a six-member military government headed by Colonel Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya. ^{[3] [4]}

References

• Mauritania portal

1. "MAURITANIA REPORTS IT HAS FOILED AN ATTEMPTED COUP BY 2 EXILES", New York Times , March 17, 1981.
2. "LA TENTATIVE DE PUTSCH DE NOUAKCHOTT Le chef de l'État rejette le recours en grâce des quatre officiers condamnés à mort". Le Monde.fr (in French). 26 March 1981. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
3. Handloff, Robert E., ed. (1988). "22. The Haidalla Regime". Mauritania: A Country Study. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
4. "Career Soldier Takes Over As Premier of Mauritania", New York Times , April 27, 1981.