Shots Follow Disputed Election in Mauritania

Police opened fire on opposition supporters Sunday, hours after the nation’s military ruler claimed victory in a disputed presidential election. At least five people were killed, an opposition spokesman said.

Interior Ministry officials in this West African state refused to comment on the incident but later imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew in the capital of Nouakchott and the port of Nouadhibou, where opposition officials said the incident occurred.

Opponents of Col. Sid Ahmed Ould Taya charged that Friday’s election--the country’s first multi-party presidential contest--was rigged. But international observers said that supporters of all candidates tried to steal votes.

The Interior Ministry said Taya took 63% of the votes and his main challenger, Ahmed Ould Daddah, got 33%. Two other contenders shared 4%. All candidates are Moors, the country’s dominant ethnic group.

Violence erupted Sunday after hundreds of Daddah supporters gathered at the headquarters of an opposition coalition, said the group’s spokesman, Bechir Hassan.

He said police surrounded the building and opened fire, killing five people. It was not clear why the gathering was held or what provoked the police action.

Taya, who seized power in 1984, has been accused by the opposition of holding a sham election to legitimize his rule and improve his image abroad after years of repressive and corrupt rule.

The human rights group Amnesty International said recently that at least 339 black soldiers and civilians had been hanged or tortured to death in recent years after the government accused them of plotting a coup.

Taya’s supporters said the vote represents a real shift to democracy after years of one-party government modeled on the failed regimes of Eastern Europe.

Daddah was supported by many blacks, who account for about 20% of the desert nation’s 2 million people. He also was backed by other groups united only in their opposition to Taya, including Moorish intellectuals and Islamic fundamentalists.

Daddah, a former minister in the country’s first government after gaining independence from France in 1960, said he rejected the results. He said he will ask the Supreme Court to annul the vote but doubts that it will agree because its members were appointed by Taya.

About 48% of the 1.2 million registered voters cast ballots.