Mauritania’s ousted leader Maaouiya Ould Taya arrived on Monday in Qatar, which has reportedly granted him asylum after he was toppled in a bloodless coup almost three weeks ago.
”The delegation arrived in Doha at 8am (5am GMT),” said Mohamad Ould Ali, the private teacher of the exiled leader, adding that Ould Taya was in ”high spirits”.
He said Ould Taya flew into Doha with his wife and children aboard a Qatar Airways plane from Gambia, where he has been for nearly two weeks, following a short stop-over in Cairo.
The family was taken to a luxurious hotel in the Qatari capital.
Qatari officials were not available for comment or confirmation of a Gambian report that Ould Taya, ousted while he was in Saudi Arabia for the funeral of king Fahd, had been granted political asylum in Doha.
Ould Taya arrived in Gambia on August 9, having first gone to Niger from Saudi Arabia.
The Mauritanian junta which seized power on August 3 has formed a civilian government and promised a new Constitution and elections within two years.
The coup has been widely welcomed at home and accepted internationally despite formal condemnations by the African Union. – Sapa-AFP