20120704
AFP
The Nouakchott criminal court has convicted two Mauritanians of attempting to form a terrorist group, while acquitting eight others, all arrested last year, a legal source said Tuesday.

The verdict was handed down on Monday night. Of the 10 accused, who all pleaded not guilty, "only two were sentenced to three years in prison," the source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

All the suspects were on trial for "attempting to constitute a terrorist group" in the largely desert northwest African country and for "incitement to religious extremism", according to the charges.

The 10 men were arrested on November 23, 2011, on suspicion of ties with armed Islamic extremists. They were charged a month later.

According to press reports, the group planned attacks on targets in Nouakchott on the eve of a military parade last November 28 to mark the 51st anniversary of the independence of Mauritania from France.

When the trial began on Sunday, the prosecution asked for jail terms of 15 years for nine of the defendants and 10 years for the tenth, according to the legal source.

Since July 2010, the Mauritanian army has carried out operations against Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which is active in several countries of the region.

The military has undertaken raids across the eastern border to attack AQIM bases in Mali, where the north three months ago fell into the hands of armed groups dominated by Islamic extremists.