Current Analysis Images and Realities of Mauritania's Attempted Coup Without the aid of its foreign friends, the regime of President Maaouiya Ould Taya in Mauritania would have ended on June 8, 2003. The attempted coup on that day left 15 reported dead and 68 injured. Taya, well-regarded in the West but perceived as a brutal dictator by most Mauritanians, Bakary Tandia, Alice Bullard • 8 min read