Mauritania President Aziz undergoing treatment after being ‘accidentally’ shot

Mauritania President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz. PHOTO/Reuters

Mauritania President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz is currently undergoing treatment and examinations after being wounded when the military fired on his vehicle outside the capital.

Aziz spoke on national TV Sunday from his hospital bed in Mauritania to reassure the public he was in good health. He insisted that the shooting was an accident when his motorcade approached a military barracks by an unpaved road north of Nouakchott.

Mauritania Minister of Communication had said that Aziz was shot in the arm on Saturday. Reports in local media indicated the military unit had not been told of the president’s trip.

Mauritania has been destabilized by an al-Qaeda affiliate, which has launched attacks from neighboring Mali.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.