NOUAKCHOTT, August 6, 2008 (AFP) - Troops shut down Mauritania's state radio and television Wednesday, witnesses said, amid diplomatic reports that Prime Minister Yahya Ould Ahmed Waghf had been taken prisoner by the military.

Witnesses also said troops had moved through the capital and surrounded the state presidency.

France's foreign ministry said a group of Mauritanian army generals was reported to be holding Waghf.

'We are in contact with our embassy to obtain confirmation of the events that appear to be taking place in Nouakchott. Based on initial information, it seems that a group of generals are holding the prime minister,' a ministry spokesman told AFP in Paris.