Nouakchott - Mauritanian President Mohammed Ould Abdel-Aziz on Wednesday dismissed the head of the country's national police force, a senior official said. Abdel-Aziz replaced his close associate, Colonel Ahmed Ould Bekrine, with Colonel Anjagha Janik as head of the National Gendarmes, a Mauritanian official told the German Press Agency dpa, requesting anonymity.
No reason was given for the change, but the colonel was one of the primary officers responsible for
security along the road where three Spanish aid workers were abducted on Sunday night.
The change also follows leaks from Mauritanian security sources on Tuesday night indicating that the abductors had been located.
Spanish government officials have repeatedly said they could not confirm that information.
A Mauritanian political official, speaking on condition of anonymity, on Wednesday said the aid workers had been taken to Mali.
If so, they would have had to
travel hundreds of kilometres from the coastal road where they were abducted, eluding a massive manhunt to reach the border.
