181 Go on Trial in Mauritania

Guarding defendants behind artillery batteries and thousands of troops, Mauritania opened a mass trial Sunday for 181 officers and opposition figures accused of repeated coup attempts.

Officials in Mauritania, an Arab-dominated nation in northwest Africa, moved the trial from the capital, Nouakchott, to a military barracks in the desert to the east. Defense attorneys complained of irregularities, including putting military officers on the jury for what is supposed to be a civilian trial.

The defendants include former president Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla and two opposition leaders. They are accused of plotting the overthrow of Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed Taya, who took power in a coup in 1984.