Col. Mustafa Ould Salek was the President of Mauritania

Heads of state of Mauritania

-List of Heads of State of Mauritania:-Affiliations:-See also:*Mauritania**Heads of government of Mauritania**Colonial heads of Mauritania*Lists of office-holders-External links:*...

 from 1978 through 1979.

Mustafa Ould Salek was appointed army commander by longtime President Mokhtar Ould Daddah in February, 1978,http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+mr0034) as the country faced dire economic crisis and was failing to contain the Polisario Front

Polisario Front

The POLISARIO, Polisario Front, or Frente Polisario, from the Spanish abbreviation of Frente Popular de Liberación de Saguía el Hamra y Río de Oro is a Sahrawi rebel national liberation movement working for the independence of Western Sahara from Morocco...

's Sahrawi guerrillas

Guerrilla warfare

Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...

 after invading Western Sahara in 1975 in alliance with Morocco.http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+mr0032) On July 10, 1978, Ould Salek led a military coup d'état

Coup d'état

A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...

 against President Daddah, and was appointed head of the 20-man junta

Military dictatorship

A military dictatorship is a form of government where in the political power resides with the military. It is similar but not identical to a stratocracy, a state ruled directly by the military....

 (the Military Committee for National Recovery

Military Committee for National Recovery

The Military Committee for National Recovery was a short-lived military government of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania after the coup d'état that removed long-time President Mukthar Ould Daddah on July 10, 1978, until a second coup on April 6, 1979. It was headed by Col. Mustapha Ould Salek...

, CMRN) that was to rule the country.

Seen as pro-French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 and careful not to break his country's alliance with Morocco, he failed to make peace with the Polisario (which had reacted to Daddah's downfall by entering into a unilateral ceasefire

Ceasefire

A ceasefire is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be declared as part of a formal treaty, but they have also been called as part of an informal understanding between opposing forces...

 on the assumption that Mauritania would want to withdraw peacefully from the conflict). He also failed to address racial tension between southern Mauritanian Blacks and the northern Arab

Arab

Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...

 Moors

Moors

The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...

, discriminating heavily in favour of the latter group, of which he was himself a member. Consequently, he became increasingly isolated within the regime. On April 6, 1979, a second coup by Colonels Ahmad Ould Bouceif and Muhammad Khouna Haidallah reduced Ould Salek to a figurehead President in the replacement junta, the Military Committee for National Salvation

Military Committee for National Salvation

The Military Committee for National Salvation was a military government of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania that took power in 1979. It was installed by Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla, Ahmed Ould Bouceif and fellow officers, in an internal regime/military coup d'état on April 6, 1979, removing Col...

 (CMSN). In May, he was replaced as president by Col. Muhammad Louly.http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+mr0036)

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