Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz has been shot and wounded, security sources say.
They say he is now being treated at a military hospital in Nouakchott, which is sealed off by security forces.
The sources declined to provide any further details.
Mr Abdelaziz, aged 55, came to power in a military coup in 2008. He won presidential elections a year later held under an agreement with coup opponents.
Details of the shooting remain sketchy.
However, Mauritanian Communications Minister Hamdi Ould Mahjoub was quoted as saying that the president was injured when a military patrol accidentally opened fire on his convoy.
Reports say his injury is light and that his life is not danger.
