Wüstenschiff

A Mauritanian army soldier who is said to have shot and wounded the president by accident has appeared on state television to explain what happened. Lt Elhaj Ould Hamoudi had been guarding his base in Tweila, north of the capital Nouakchott, on 13 October when the shooting happened. He said he had been alarmed by "suspicious cars" approaching, and opened fire when they failed to stop. President Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz was shot in the arm.