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| Mr Abdelaziz appeared on Mauritanian television before flying to Paris |
Mauritanian
President Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz is being flown to the French capital, Paris,
after he was shot in what officials say was an accident.
He had
surgery in the capital, Nouakchott, and will receive further medical treatment
in France.
Before
leaving, Mr Abdelaziz, 55, appeared on television from his hospital bed to say
he was OK.
A military
patrol is said to have mistakenly opened fire on the presidential convoy late
on Saturday.
"I
want to reassure the citizens of Mauritania that the operation I underwent
yesterday [Saturday] evening was a success thanks to the efficiency of the
medical team that carried it out," he said.
Earlier,
Communications Minister Hamdi Ould Mahjoub said Mr Abdelaziz was injured in the
arm and that his life was not in danger.
A medical
source told AFP news agency that he had had a bullet removed.
It was not
clear what treatment he was going to receive in Paris, says BBC Arabic's
Mohammad Taha in Nouakchott.
The country
is being run by the prime minister in the president's absence.
He is
expected to open an inquiry into the shooting and two army officers have
reportedly been detained on suspicion of involvement.
Assassination
attempt?
Initially,
Mauritanian radio reported Mr Abdelaziz had escaped an assassination attempt.
Many
Nouakchott inhabitants tend to believe the "shot by mistake" claims
as they are used to seeing the president walk in the city, play sport and drive
his car without guards, our correspondent says.
Some local
reports say the president was targeted by a militant group while travelling
from Tweila, north of the capital, where he spends most weekends, our
correspondent says.
He was
travelling overnight to the capital as the week starts in Mauritania on Sunday.
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.
The BBC's
Mohammed Taha says coups and coup attempts are almost a normal part of life in
Mauritania, with three in the last ten years. The military has been involved in
nearly every government since the country became independent from France in
1960.
The current
president is seen by the West as a bulwark against Islamists in the region,
particularly in neighbouring Mali.
Mauritania
launched a joint military operation with Mali last year against the bases of
Islamist militants in Mali before a rebellion in that country this year split
it in two and hardline Islamists occupied the the country's vast northern
region.
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