Mauritania's president flown to France

Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz traveled to France Sunday for treatment after he was shot by his own troops, officials said. Before his departure, Aziz delivered a speech via radio assuring the country he was in good health and there was nothing to "worry about," Xinhua reported. Government spokesman Hamdi Ould Mahjoub described the shooting Saturday as "friendly fire" from a military unit to the state-run AMI news agency. The shooting happened as Aziz was returning to the capital, Nouakchott, from his farm, CNN reported. While the government says the shooting was an accident, witnesses told the independent Mauritania News agency it appeared to be an assassination attempt, as the shooters fled after opening fire, while soldiers remained in their station. Various Western intelligence agencies have acknowledged the presence of an al-Qaida sect in the coastal West African country.