June 10, 2003 - State Department Briefing Transcript: All Volunteers safe and accounted for in Mauritania
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June 10, 2003 - State Department Briefing Transcript: All Volunteers safe and accounted for in Mauritania
All Volunteers safe and accounted for in Mauritania
Caption: Aborted coup : A woman passes the burnt out remains of a tank that had been part of the abortive coup in Nouakchott, Mauritania.
Read and comment on this excerpt form a State Department Brieefing on June 10 that U.S. troops have arrived in Mauritania in the aftermath of the the attempted coup failed and that all Peace Corps Volunteers in Mauritania are safe and accounted for at:
State Department Briefing Transcript*
* This link was active on the date it was posted. PCOL is not responsible for broken links which may have changed.
State Department Briefing Transcript
(Powell's schedule, Israel/Palestinians, North Korea, Burma, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Iraq, Mauritania, Liberia, Venezuela, Cyprus, Turkey, Thailand, Cuba, European Union) (7220)
Deputy State Department Spokesman Phil Reeker conducted the June 10 afternoon press briefing.
QUESTION: I'll just ask if there are any updates on the situation in Liberia or Mauritania.
MR. REEKER: Which one do you want first?
QUESTION: Well, let's start with Mauritania, since U.S. troops arrived there today.
MR. REEKER: Okay. I believe when you refer to U.S. troops arriving there, these are --
QUESTION: -- embassy security force --
MR. REEKER: Right, these are U.S. -- as the President wrote to Congress yesterday, these are an assessment team and a standby response and evacuation force of an estimated 34 U.S. military personnel from European Command, went into Nouakchott, Mauritania, to augment the Embassy security forces there and aid in the evacuation of American citizens, should that become necessary.
Right now, we are pleased that the attempted coup has failed, and that the President Taya has regained control, he and his forces loyal to the government have regained control of Nouakchott, the capital. There have been no reports of rebel activity or violence outside the capital.
All of the American citizens in Mauritania are safe and accounted for, except for one American citizen who remains unaccounted for. He was traveling outside of Nouakchott at the time of the attempted coup. But we have no report of harm befalling this person. So we're keeping in close contact with American citizens in the country there.
Our Embassy is open today in Nouakchott. Obviously, we oppose attempts to change governments through extra-constitutional and/or violent means. And, as I said, we're pleased that this attempted coup has failed.
QUESTION: This one person who is unaccounted for is an embassy employee or?
MR. REEKER: No, it's an American citizen who resides --
QUESTION: A private citizen?
MR. REEKER: Yeah.
QUESTION: Not Peace Corps, or anything like that?
MR. REEKER: That's my understanding.
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This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Mauritania; Safety and Security of Volunteers
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