The AMD was organized in May 1980, around former President Moktar Ould Daddah, after he had gone into exile in Paris, France, following the 1978 coup d'état that overthrew him; and former military leader Col. Mustafa Ould Salek.
It demanded a multi-party democracy in Mauritania, although the regime countered that Ould Daddah had in fact presided over a one-party state, and Ould Salek over a junta.
The movement enjoyed support from Morocco and pro-Moroccan states in the Gulf region, and at the very least, it was allowed to organize in France.
[1][2][2] On March 18, 1981, the AMD organized a coup d'état of its own against Heidallah's CMSN junta, but the action failed.
[3][4][2] This prompted Heidallah to seek closer relations with the Western Saharan Polisario Front, and with its backer and Morocco's main rival in the region, Algeria.