Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla
Born in 1940 in the Nouadhibou region (either in then-Spanish Sahara[2] or colonial Mauritania[citation needed]), into a family of the Sahrawi Laaroussien tribe, he passed to secondary education in Rosso near the border to French-administered Senegal.After 1975, he commanded forces in the north of Mauritania and Tiris al-Gharbiya (Western Sahara), in the war against Polisario Front guerrillas, notably in the Zouerate region and Bir Moghrein.[4] His reign was marked by severe political turbulence, as Mauritania extracted itself from the war with the Polisario Front — started by Ould Daddah in 1975 — and his regime faced a number of coups attempts and military intrigues.The CMSN opted for complete withdrawal from the conflict, evacuating southern Rio de Oro (which had been annexed as Tiris El Gharbiya) and recognizing the POLISARIO as the representative of the Sahrawi people.This led to a crisis in relations with the country's until-then ally Morocco, which had similarly annexed the remainder of Western Sahara, with Mohamed Khouna's government facing an attempted coup, troop clashes and military tension.[2][14] Mohamed Khouna's 1984 recognition of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR, the POLISARIO's government-in-exile) as a sovereign nation appears to have been one of the triggering causes for Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya's coup in late 1984.[29][30] However, no longer having the political base that came with being the main candidate of the opposition under Ould Taya, Mohamed Khouna was even less successful in the 2007 election, coming in tenth place and receiving 1.73% of the vote.[34] On June 18, 2010, Mohamed Khouna wrote an open letter to the heads of state who have good relations with the king of Morocco, requesting for help to bring his son back to Mauritania or to liberate him.