Mauritania’s state run television and radio networks were last week occupied by members of the Presidential Guard in the capital, Nouackchott in what some diplomats are speculating was a coup attempt. Nobody seems to know if it was successful or not!

With the president out of the country to attend King Fahd’s funeral in Saudi Arabia, it looks like the boys with their toys couldn’t quite restrain themselves. The airport was closed and gunshots were heard ringing out around the presidential palace.

It wouldn’t be the first coup attempt in Mauritania in recent years, with soldiers making an unsuccessful bid for power in 2003 and the government claiming to have suppressed two more attempts to seize power in 2004.

Considering that the latest coup plotters actually managed to successfully seize the television and radio stations, one wonders why they didn’t bother announcing their intentions. For the moment everyone remains in the dark.