Stunning news, I didn't even know there was a Mauritania, (but of course, the CIA did).
The military council said it had ended the "totalitarian regime" of President Maaouiya Ould Sid Ahmed Taya.
Troops have seized control of state media and main routes in Mauritania's capital, Nouakchott.
Presidential guards earlier blocked off access to the presidential palace and gunfire was heard.
The new Military Council for Justice and Democracy said it would rule the West African state for two years.
A plane carrying President Taya has landed in Niger's capital, Niamey, on his return from attending the funeral of Saudi Arabia's King Fahd, officials say.
Interesting note, Mauritania is an Islamic Republic controlled by light-skinned Moors who apparently violently oppress the Black African population.
