Armed men shoot at Mauritania PresidentOctober 14, 2012 - 17:23 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Troops shot Mauritania's president Saturday, October 13 in what the government calls a case of "friendly fire" - though others believe it may have been something more sinister, CNN said. President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz's convoy mistakenly came under fire as it was heading back toward the capital of Nouakchott, the official AMI news agency reported. The gunshots came from a military unit stationed alongside the road in the west African country. 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. But witnesses said they believe the incident was an assassination attempt because unknown armed men shot their guns at the president and ran away, according to the independent Mauritania News agency. 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. Mauritania has a history of political instability, and faces threats from al Qaeda militants. A former general, Aziz came to power in a bloodless 2008 military coup -- one of many such coups the country of about 3.4 million people has had since it gained independence from France in 1960. He ousted Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, who had been the nation's first democratically elected leader, according to the U.S. State Department. Aziz was elected president in 2009. Still, even with that result, the CIA describes the country's leadership as a "military junta." Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Caring for nature, we have started with ourselves - Team Telecom Armenia Team Telecom Armenia summarized the work undertaken within the company in the direction of environmental protection. Residents of border Armenian villages continue protests Residents of several Armenian communities in Tavush province continued protests into April 22 morning. U.S. welcomes Armenia, Azerbaijan’s border delimitation announcement Blinken said it is an important step towards concluding a durable and dignified peace agreement. Residents Of border villages protest as Armenia, Azerbaijan agree on delimitation Residents of several Armenian communities in the northeastern Tavush province began protests late on Friday. |