Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz was shot and “slightly wounded” when an army unit accidentally fired on his convoy, official said. He has undergone a successful operation on his arm and is travelling abroad soon for further treatment, they say.
The president was “lightly injured,” and government spokesman Hamdi Ould Mahjoub described the shooting as “friendly fire,” state news reported. Aziz was being treated at Nouakchott’s military hospital and doing well. “This was an accidental shooting on the presidential convoy as it returned to Nouakchott.
The army unit did not recognise the presidential convoy,” Mahjoub said on national television. “The Mauritanian people can be reassured, the president is fine… He was slightly wounded, and he got out of the vehicle unassisted upon arrival at the hospital, where he walked in without difficulty.”
The witnesses said the armed men “directly” targeted the president as he was returning from his farm in the Inchiri province, near the capital, Mauritania News reported. President Abdelaziz came to power in a military coup in 2008 in the West African nation. He won presidential elections a year later held under an agreement with coup opponents.
No official reason has been given for the enhanced security, according to the report. But the publication, quoting terrorism experts and local news reports, said it may be related to threats posed by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
The president’s “life is not in danger, he got out and walked to a military hospital where he received first aid,” the source said. The hospital was placed under high surveillance by the presidential guard. The opposition wants a transition government to take over from Abdel Aziz and find a way out of the crisis, dealing with issues such as unemployment, slavery and attacks on human rights.
The president was “lightly injured,” and government spokesman Hamdi Ould Mahjoub described the shooting as “friendly fire,” state news reported. Aziz was being treated at Nouakchott’s military hospital and doing well. “This was an accidental shooting on the presidential convoy as it returned to Nouakchott.
The army unit did not recognise the presidential convoy,” Mahjoub said on national television. “The Mauritanian people can be reassured, the president is fine… He was slightly wounded, and he got out of the vehicle unassisted upon arrival at the hospital, where he walked in without difficulty.”
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| Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz was shot and “slightly wounded” when an army unit accidentally fired on his convoy, official said. |
The witnesses said the armed men “directly” targeted the president as he was returning from his farm in the Inchiri province, near the capital, Mauritania News reported. President Abdelaziz came to power in a military coup in 2008 in the West African nation. He won presidential elections a year later held under an agreement with coup opponents.
No official reason has been given for the enhanced security, according to the report. But the publication, quoting terrorism experts and local news reports, said it may be related to threats posed by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
The president’s “life is not in danger, he got out and walked to a military hospital where he received first aid,” the source said. The hospital was placed under high surveillance by the presidential guard. The opposition wants a transition government to take over from Abdel Aziz and find a way out of the crisis, dealing with issues such as unemployment, slavery and attacks on human rights.
