Mauritania Junta Pressured to Release President

The UN, the African Union (AU), and the Arab League have jointly asked Mauritania’s military junta to release President Sidi Ould Sheikh Abdallahi, who has been in detention since the August 6 coup that ousted him from power. AU Commission chief Jean Ping, UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon's special representative for West Africa, Said Djinnit, and top Arab League official Ahmed Benhelli met Thursday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where they called for Abdallahi’s release and the restoration of democratic institutions.[PE]