Mauritanian leader appoints party chief as premier

By Vincent Fertey

NOUAKCHOTT, May 6 (Reuters) -Mauritania's president replaced his prime minister on Tuesday with a loyalist who heads his new political party, the official news agency reported.

A reshuffle had been widely expected in the sparsely populated Saharan state which has faced unrest over rising food prices in recent months as well as a spate of al Qaeda attacks.

President Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi accepted the resignation of Zein Ould Zeidane, the Mauritanian Information Agency said.

Zeidane, a former central bank chief, came in third place in a presidential election last year in which he stood against Abdallahi. He backed Abdallahi in a run-off vote and was rewarded with the post of prime minister when he won.

In his place Abdallahi has appointed Yahya Ahmed El Waghef, until now general secretary at the ministry in the presidency and head of the National Pact for Development and Democracy (PNDD-ADIL) which Abdallahi created after coming to power.

No official reason was given for Zeidane's replacement.

The administration has been criticised over its response to a string of attacks by al Qaeda's north African arm, including the Dec. 24 murder of four French tourists and the subsequent cancellation of the annual Dakar motor rally on security grounds.

The attacks prompted fears that Mauritania's young democracy was ill-equipped to counter any attempt by al Qaeda to extend its operations southwards from Algeria and Morocco, especially after the embarrassing escape of a prime suspect from a court.