Saleh Ould Hanenna

Saleh Ould Hanenna (born on September 20, 1965) is a former Mauritanian soldier and political figure.[1]

Saleh Ould Hanenna served in the Mauritanian Army and rose to the rank of Major before being officially dismissed in 2000.

In June 2003, he led an attempted coup, aiming to overthrow President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya. He commanded a rebel section of the Army during two days of heavy fighting in Nouakchott which caused the death of dozens of people.[2][3] With the complete failure of the coup, Ould Hanenna initially escaped capture, and formed an opposition group called the "Knights of Change" with former officer Mohamed Ould Cheikhna, but he was captured and arrested on October 9, 2004.[4][5]

The Government of Mauritania accused Saleh Ould Hanenna of attempting to organize coups on two further occasions, in August and September 2004,[6][7] with the alleged backing of Libya and Burkina Faso.[4] A death sentence was initially recommended at his subsequent trial, but he was instead given life imprisonment at the conclusion of the trial on February 3, 2005.[8][9][10]

In August 2005, Colonel Ely Ould Mohamed Vall led a successful coup in the country that ousted President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya.[11] The Military Council for Justice and Democracy (CMJD) which subsequently took charge of the government released Ould Hanenna in a general amnesty in early September.[12]

On January 9, 2007, Ould Hanenna, the president of the Mauritanian Union for Change (HATEM), was unanimously chosen by that party's executive committee as its candidate in the March 2007 presidential election.[13] He took sixth position in the poll, with 7.65% of the votes cast,[14] and subsequently backed Ahmed Ould Daddah for the second round.[15][16]

Ould Hanenna served as President of the Coordination of Democratic Opposition, a political coalition made up of parties opposed to General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz led government in Mauritania.[17]

References

  1. ^ "Government arrests mastermind behind coup plots". The New Humanitarian. 2004-10-12. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
  2. ^ "En bref: Mauritanie, coup d'État raté". Le Devoir (in French). 2003-06-09. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
  3. ^ à 00h00, Par Le 26 juin 2003 (2003-06-25). "La tentative de putsch a été meurtrière". leparisien.fr (in French). Retrieved 2023-09-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ a b "MAURITANIA: Government arrests mastermind behind coup plots", IRIN Africa, October 12, 2004.
  5. ^ Staff Reporter (2004-10-13). "Mauritania arrests coup mastermind". The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
  6. ^ "Une supposée tentative de coup d'Etat déjouée en Mauritanie". Le Monde.fr (in French). 2004-08-11. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
  7. ^ "Defence minister confirms coup plot, arrests". The New Humanitarian. 2004-08-11. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
  8. ^ "Mauritania coup trial ends with 84 guilty verdicts" Archived 2006-10-17 at the Wayback Machine, Middle East Online, February 3, 2005.
  9. ^ "Mauritania ends mass coup trial". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
  10. ^ "Coup plotters get life in prison but escape death sentence". The New Humanitarian. 2005-02-03. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
  11. ^ L'Orient-Le Jour, L'Orient-Le Jour (9 August 2005). "Mauritanie - Ould Taya appelle " ses forces à intervenir " La junte militaire à Nouakchott confirme ses intentions démocratiques". www.lorientlejour.com (in French) (published 2005).
  12. ^ "MAURITANIA: Junta declares general amnesty for political prisoners", IRIN, September 5, 2005.
  13. ^ "Le parti "Hatem" présente M. Salah Ould Hanena, candidat aux élections présidentielles" Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine, Agence Mauritanienne d'Information, January 9, 2007 (in French).
  14. ^ "Le conseil constitutionnel proclame les résultats du premier tour de l'élection présidentielles du 11 mars 2007"[permanent dead link‍], Agence Mauritanienne d'Information, March 15, 2007 (in French).
  15. ^ "The two run-off candidates continue to woo the Mauritanian voters"[permanent dead link‍], African Press Agency, March 16, 2007.
  16. ^ "Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi remporte l'élection présidentielle en Mauritanie". Courrier international (in French). 2007-03-27. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
  17. ^ Mauritania Opposition Demands Election After President Is Shot, Bloomberg Business Week, November 2, 2012.