The African Union imposed sanctions on Friday on Mauritania, where a military junta seized power in August and overthrew the country's first democratically elected head of state. In a statement, the AU's Peace and Security Council called on all member countries to enforce its decision and stressed that the sanctions should be accompanied by efforts to return constitutional order to the West African nation.
"The council urges the authorities borne out of the coup to extend their full co-operation to the AU Commission with a view to an immediate return to constitutional order and the quick resolution of the political crisis in the country," it said.
The sanctions include the denial of visas, travel restrictions and the freezing of assets belonging to all individuals, both civilian and military, whose activities maintained what the AU called the "unconstitutional status quo".
The move follows a February 1-4 AU summit in Ethiopia. Delegates from Mauritania and Guinea, which suffered a coup in December, were excluded from the meeting. AU officials said the absence of the two nations proved the continent had moved on from its chequered past. The AU was formed in 2002 to replace the Organisation of African Unity, which had often been criticised for its failure to intervene or even comment on violence and tyrannical rule. The AU has tried to be more outspoken.