| 1978 Mauritanian coup d'état | |
| Date: | 10 July 1978 |
| Location: | Nouakchott, Mauritania |
| Type: | Military coup |
| Cause: | Participation of Mauritania in the Western Sahara War |
| Motive: | Regime change |
| Target: | Presidential Palace, Nouakchott |
| Organisers: | Mustafa Ould Salek |
| Participants: | Faction within the Armed Forces |
| Outcome: | Coup succeeds
|
The 1978 Mauritanian coup d'état was a bloodless military coup in Mauritania which took place on 10 July 1978.[1] [2] The coup, led by the Army Chief of Staff, Colonel Mustafa Ould Salek, who commanded a group of junior officers, overthrew President Moktar Ould Daddah, who ruled the country since independence from France in 1960.[3]
The main motive for the coup was Daddah's ill-fated participation in the Western Sahara War (from 1975 onwards) and the resulting ruin of the economy of Mauritania.[4] Following the coup, Salek had assumed the presidency of a newly formed military junta, the 20-member Military Committee for National Recovery (CMRN).[5]
Reports from the capital Nouakchott said no shooting had been heard in the city, and no casualties had been announced.
After a period of imprisonment, Ould Daddah was allowed to go into exile in France in August 1979, and was allowed to return to Mauritania on 17 July 2001.[6]