Mauritania’s interior ministry has announced the death of three people who were arrested in southern Mauritania to contain unrest sparked by the election victory of incumbent President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani. According to the ministry, two of the three deceased persons died in detention in the presence of other detainees, while a third died in the hospital. The ministry did not provide further information on the deaths but promised to launch an investigation into the incident. The riots had begun after Ghazouani’s opponent and the election’s runner up, anti-slavery activist Biram Dah Abeid, rejected the provisional election results that declared Ghazouani the winner, citing irregularities. Apart from Kaedi, protests took place in Mauritania’s capital Nouakchott and the northern city of Nouadhibou. The government has since imposed a mobile internet blackout to curb the unrest.
SOURCE: LE MONDE
Three Mauritanians Detained for Protesting Election Results Die in Custody
