celebrations in mauritania

Celebrations in Mauritania after army takes power
Wed 3 Aug 2005 11:43 AM ET
NOUAKCHOTT, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Hundreds of people took to the streets of Mauritania's capital on Wednesday, shouting and honking car horns in celebration after the army announced it had seized power in the West African country, witnesses said.

Convoys of cars with people hanging out of them shouting "Praise Be to God" and making victory signs paraded down one of Nouakchott's main sand-blanketed avenues.

"There was no democracy here, there was just slavery. We have been freed from a dictatorship," said one man, Bilal, aged around 45, watching from a side street.

"It's like we've been imprisoned for decades. I'm so happy. Change is good. We've been disappointed by the regime," shouted Mohammed, in his early 20s, as he ran down the street.

Police armed with batons patrolled other parts of the city but appeared to be maintaining a low profile, while some streets around key buildings were still sealed off by soldiers, residents said.