Mauritania thwarts a coup attempt at its beginning with the support of the Kingdom of Morocco. Hello dear viewers from the Atlantic to the Gulf, on your program Arab Show, Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani made a series of new appointments last week that concerned high-level military and security positions, including the leadership of the Gendarmerie Staff, the General Staff of the Armies, and the General Directorate of External Security. According to the appointment decrees published by the Mauritanian presidency, Major General Ahmed Mahmoud Mohamed Abdullah Al-Taie was appointed Chief of Staff of the National Gendarmerie, succeeding the former commander, Lieutenant General Abdullah Ould Ahmed Aisha, who was also retired. At the same time, the management of external intelligence was assigned to Major General Saidou Samba Dia, succeeding Major General Ibrahim Fall Ould Cheibani, who was appointed as Chief of Staff of President Ould El Ghazouani. The changes included the position of Inspector General of the Armed Forces and Security Forces. Thus, most of the high-level military positions in the Mauritanian armed forces were changed after the return of the Mauritanian president from Morocco. Surprisingly, most of the leadership whose missions were terminated were in meetings with Algerian military leaders a few days ago, which Moroccan experts considered an indication of Algerian support for the Mauritanian military leaders. Accordingly, what are the details of the failed coup attempt in Mauritania? What is the Moroccan role in thwarting this plan? Is Algeria involved in supporting the failed military coup in Mauritania? And why will this incident change Mauritania's regional orientations in the future? Democratic logic requires that the army replace its leaders in the context of keeping pace with development and strategic openness to various international military schools. However, some see the replacement of the most important military leaders during the same period as an attempt to suppress an organized armed movement that might occur. The changes that affected the leadership of the Mauritanian military establishment on June 8, 2003 are similar to what happened a week ago. At that time, military general Saleh Ould Hanana led a coup against Mauritanian President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya, who was in the presidential palace at the time of the military coup. This prompted Morocco to intervene to thwart the coup by landing special paratrooper forces from the Moroccan First Parachute Brigade on the Mauritanian presidential palace where President Maaouya was located. The Moroccan forces fought a fierce battle, after which they halted the advance of soldiers and a column of tanks of the coup plotters towards the presidential palace. The Moroccan special forces that were landed in Nouakchott were supported by the Fourth Corps, which invaded the Mauritanian border during the operation, thus thwarting the coup at that time. In this context, Algerian opposition journalist Walid Kabir said in his vision of this change that affected the leaders of the army in Mauritania, as he considered that “it cannot be separated from the recent visit that led the Chief of Staff of the Algerian National People’s Army, Said Chengriha, to Mauritania, during which he held meetings with senior officers of the Mauritanian army,” adding that he believes that the Mauritanian president took this decision preemptively in anticipation of any attempt by the Algerian regime to interfere in the internal affairs of Mauritania, and push the army or move some of its officers against President Ould Ghazouani. The same speaker pointed out that “the Algerian regime played a role in supporting the officers of the Mauritanian army to overthrow the former Mauritanian president, the late Mokhtar Ould Daddah,” stressing that “the ruling regime in Algeria has become wary of the beginning of the clarity of the Mauritanian position on some regional issues, and is wary of the policy of the Mauritanian president who raised a set of no’s in the face of Algeria.” “President Ould Ghazouani also refused to close the Guerguerat crossing when the Algerian regime tried to pressure him to take this step, and refused to join any Maghreb bloc that would exclude Morocco. He also refused to stand against the Moroccan-Nigerian gas pipeline project and obstruct Moroccan initiatives in favor of the Sahel countries; in addition to his refusal to open a Polisario embassy in Nouakchott.” Therefore, all these Mauritanian positions against Algerian demands confirmed to the Algerian regime that President Ould Ghazouani would not go along with them in what they aspire to. Therefore, this Algerian oppositionist confirms that the regime has begun to think about moving to get rid of the Mauritanian president, according to his point of view. Therefore, the Mauritanian president anticipated this step by making changes at the level of the army leadership.” On another level, it seems that Nouakchott’s involvement in strengthening its relations with Rabat, which has promising projects for the African continent, is evidence of an imminent Mauritanian-Moroccan rapprochement that could culminate in the near future with Mauritania’s recognition of Moroccan Sahara. On the other hand, Algeria confirms that it has not taken any step towards destabilizing Mauritania, and there is no tangible evidence to confirm Algeria’s involvement in what its opponents accuse it of, and that “the appointments to senior military and security positions in Mauritania reflect a clear trend towards enhancing the readiness of the armed forces and security services to confront the increasing challenges, especially in light of the increasing activity of terrorist groups in the region.” This is in the interest of Algeria, which is resisting this group in the south of the country, and that “the new appointments highlight the president’s desire to strengthen popular confidence in the army, gendarmerie and security institutions, which could enhance his political legitimacy internally,” and this seems important in light of the regional transformations that may affect the internal situation in Mauritania. Despite the importance of these appointments, Mauritania faces a number of challenges that must be dealt with carefully, including the growth of terrorist activity in the Sahel, which requires increased coordination between the security and military services, illegal immigration and organized crime, and then regional balance, as Mauritania seeks to strengthen its relations with neighboring countries without slipping into regional conflicts.