Three people have died after being arrested during riots in southern Mauritania, the interior ministry said on Tuesday, as the victory of incumbent Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani in Saturday’s presidential vote raised tensions in the West African country.
Looting and vandalism broke out in the town of Kaedi in the Senegal river valley on Monday night, with security forces arresting a number of “rioters”, the ministry said in a statement.
Two of the rioters died in custody and the third died later in hospital, it said.
The ministry did not provide further details on the circumstances of the deaths.
It said there were limited options to detain rioters due to the late hour and the large number of demonstrators.
The statement did not mention any political motivation behind the unrest.
But it took place against a tense backdrop after final provisional election results announced on Monday gave Ghazouani a comfortable victory in the presidential poll.
