After Being Shot, Mauritanian President Soothes Nation

"Accidentally" plugged by his own troops

NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania — The president of this northwest African nation appeared on television to call for calm on Sunday, hours after being shot by soldiers in what he said was an accident.

Considered by the West to be an ally against Al Qaeda's increasing presence in the Sahara, the president of Mauritania, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, has ruled over a country that has been largely stable since he seized power in a 2008 coup.