Troops seized power in the oil-rich northwest African country of Mauritania on Wednesday, overthrowing President Maaouyia Ould Taya while he was abroad and pledging to bring in democracy. The move sparked condemnation from U.S. and other leaders.

"The military and the security forces have unanimously decided to put an end to the totalitarian practices of the regime from which our people have suffered so much in the last years," a statement quoted by the state news agency said, adding that the new regime would usher in democracy within two years. It was issued several hours after troops took over the armed forces headquarters and state radio and television buildings at dawn, as well as the ministries and the presidential palace in the capital, Nouakchott.

Although residents of the city later emerged from their homes to express support for the coup leaders in seemingly spontaneous protests, the United States led international condemnation of the move. Washington called for "a peaceful return to order under the constitution and the established government of President Taya", acting State Department spokesman Tom Casey said, adding that Ould Taya, a US ally, was "the established, constitutional president of Mauritania. Certainly there is no reason in our mind for any kind of extra-constitutional action."

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan also condemned the seizure of power. His spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said that he was "deeply troubled" and stressed that Annan "condemns any attempt to change the government of any country unconstitutionally".

France called for the "legal institutional framework" to be respected, while Britain, as current holders of the EU presidency, called "upon all sides to ensure full respect for democracy, human rights and the rule of law". Spain and the EU's executive commission in Brussels also condemned the move.

In Africa, Ivory Coast's President Laurent Gbagbo called for the "immediate return to constitutional order", while the African Union said that it reaffirmed its "total rejection ... of any unconstitutional change of government and the importance of respect for constitutional order".

The coup began early on Wednesday, with brief bursts of heavy weapons' and machine-gunfire heard in the city as residents kept off the streets. A military source close to the coup leaders, who asked not to be named, said that a number of senior officers had been arrested, including the army Chief of Staff. He said, however, that no members of the ousted government had been detained.

Although residents initially stayed in their homes, later hundreds of people came out to back the ousting of Ould Taya and shouted slogans in favor of the coup in the capital's main streets. Shops and businesses meanwhile remained closed and military vehicles were stationed at key points.

Ould Taya, a former army Chief of Staff, who ruled with an iron fist since staging a bloodless coup in 1984, had been in Saudi Arabia for the funeral of King Fahd and was prevented from returning home when the military closed down Nouakchott airport. He landed in the West African state of Niger.

A statement issued by the unidentified coup leaders said that the ousted Taya regime had put Mauritania on a dangerous course, adding: "The military and security forces have therefore decided to set up a Military Council for Justice and Democracy," pledging to "establish favorable conditions for an open and transparent democratic system allowing civil society and politicians to state their opinions freely.

"The military and security forces do not intend to hold power for longer than two years, the period considered essential to prepare and establish true democratic institutions," the statement said. The council later announced that its new head was police chief Ely Ould Mohammed Vall.

In June 2003 an uprising failed to unseat Ould Taya, and was followed in August and September of last year by two more alleged coup attempts. Ould Taya was a strong ally of the United States at the helm of Mauritania, which, according to its government, sits on some 1 billion barrels of oil and 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas, but has scarcely begun production.