SUSPENSION HANDED OVER TO MAURITANIA BY AU:
MAURITANIA has been suspended from the African Union (AU) following the recent coup in the northwest African nation.
According to an Agence France Presse (AFP) report, the suspension came as an Arab League envoy, Ahmed Ben Hilli, held talks with the coup leader.

"The AU has suspended Mauritania's membership until the country returns to constitutional government," said Tanzanian Foreign Minister Bernard Membe, whose country holds the pan-African bloc's rotating presidency, in a statement.

On Wednesday last week, the former head of Mauritania's presidential guard, Gen. Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, led a coup against President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi after he tried to make changes in the military leadership.

The coup has been widely condemned by the international community even though the new military junta has promised to quickly hold "fair and transparent" elections.

The United States has suspended non-humanitarian aid to Mauritania following the coup and on Saturday, Arab League emissary, Ben Hilli, travelled to Nouakchott where he met with Aziz to "get assurances about the democratic process in the country."

Aziz told the Arab League representative that he would keep constitutional institutions in place.

"He also said he would organise a presidential election within a short period of time," said Ben Hilli following their meeting.

Ben Hilli said AU, Arab League and UN officials would meet in Nouakchott to "help Mauritania emerge from the crisis."

Meanwhile, an AU delegation has arrived in Nouakchott.

"The coup is a serious set-back for Mauritanians because it has robbed the people of their basic right to freely elect leaders of their own choice," said Membe, who is also the chairman of the AU's Council of Ministers.

Friday saw hundreds of people turn out for an anti-coup rally on the streets of Nouakchott, capital of the nation of 3.1 million people.

On Thursday, the AU condemned the coup and called for a "return to constitutional order and the re-establishment without delay of the institutions that the Mauritanian people have democratically chosen."

The Arab League emissary, meanwhile, was informed the ousted president of Mauritania - who is being kept in a heavily-guarded Villa - was not in danger.