Mauritania's president heads to France for treatment after shooting France's defense ministry says Mauritania's president will be treated there The president says he is fine, that shooting was an "accident" Witnesses think the incident was an assassination attempt, local media say (CNN) -- Mauritania's president was admitted to a French military hospital for treatment Sunday, hours after he took to his country's airwaves to say troops had shot him by accident. Doctors will treat President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz at a military hospital outside Paris, France's Defense Ministry said. I want to reassure all citizens of my well-being after the accident committed by an army unit on an unpaved road around Touela. ... Everything is fine," Aziz said in an interview broadcast on official Mauritanian television earlier Sunday. Troops shot the president late Saturday in what the government is calling a case of "friendly fire" -- though others believe it may have been something more sinister. Aziz's convoy mistakenly came under fire as it was heading back toward the capital of Nouakchott, the official AMI news agency reported. French officials did not provide details about the president's treatment or prognosis. Mauritania: Slavery's last stronghold Aziz said earlier Sunday that he had a successful operation to treat minor injuries. 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 Inchiri province, near the capital, Mauritania News reported. Mauritania has a history of political instability and faces threats from al Qaeda militants. Still, the CIA describes the country's leadership as a "military junta." But the publication, quoting terrorism experts and local news reports, said it may be related to threats posed by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. European official: Al Qaeda threat in northern Africa 'spreading' Mauritania: Former Gadhafi spy chief extradited to Libya Mauritanian refugees make new home in Ohio