[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).

[1][5] Reports from the capital Nouakchott said no shooting had been heard in the city, and no casualties had been announced.

[1] 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.