The general who masterminded Africa's latest coup appeared in public for the first time Thursday, leading a triumphal march on the streets of Mauritania's capital and declaring he is "determined to save democracy" in the Islamic nation.

Elsewhere in sand-swept Nouakchott, police fired tear gas at protesters opposed to the change of power a day earlier that put Gen. Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz in control.

The coup has returned military rule to the desert country that held historic elections just last year, its first free and fair ballot in more than 20 years. Mauritania won international praise for that vote, which saw President Sidi Cheikh Ould Abdallahi emerge as victor after a two-year transition to civilian rule begun with the army's 2005 ouster of a dictator.

"It's the army that brought an end to dictatorship in 2005. And today it's once again she that brings an end to dictatorship, to nepotism, to chaos and disorder," Aziz told throngs of people who held up giant posters of him and chanted slogans like "Yes to the coup!" and "We support the military!"

On Wednesday, military officers loyal to Aziz stormed the president's office and took Abdallahi prisoner, showing real power still lies with the army and not the ballot box.

In an official statement late Thursday, Aziz reiterated that elections will be held "as soon as possible." Until then, he said, the country will be ruled by an 11-member "state council" made up of top military officers headed by him.

Aziz assured Mauritanians that the military will not obstruct parliament and that personal liberties will be respected. The council will meet with all political parties to move the nation toward elections, he said.

The moves appeared aimed in part at damping international criticism of the coup, which has widely been condemned.

The U.S. suspended millions of dollars in military and development assistance, as well as a multimillion-dollar Millennium Challenge Corporation program. State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos told reporters Thursday that $4.9 million in food aid would continue.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy's office warned those who carried out the coup that unspecified "measures" could be in the offing. France, the former colonial ruler, rejected the plan for a new presidential election and expressed its "total condemnation" of the power grab.

An Arab League delegation announced it was headed to Mauritania to try to resolve the crisis. The African Union's Peace and Security Council said the country must "return to the institutions that were democratically chosen by the Mauritanian people."

The toppled president had not been heard or seen since he was put under house arrest Wednesday.

Abdallahi's daughter, Amal Cheikh Abdallahi, told The Associated Press by telephone from the family's living quarters inside the presidential compound that she, along with her brother and their mother, had not been allowed to leave their rooms. Early Thursday, they were told to pack their bags and prepare to leave, she said.

The daughter said she fears the junta plans to hold her father indefinitely. While packing her bags, a guard handed her a handwritten letter from her father asking for clothes and three books, including a biography of Bill Clinton, she said.

"The fact that he didn't say how he is, or ask about us means that he's not allowed to communicate freely. The fact that he asked for clothes means that they intend to keep him," she said. "And the biography of Clinton is a long book _ 500 pages or more. So he must be thinking he'll be there for a long time."

The coup mirrors the events of Aug. 3, 2005, when many of the same top army officers _ led by Aziz _ overthrew the 21-year regime of President Maaouya Sid'Ahmed Ould Taya. Two and a half years later, the junta organized the country's first free elections, which brought Abdallahi to power and won praise from the international community that had condemned that military takeover. Continued...