In Comoros, President Azali Assoumani slightly injured in knife attack; his attacker is dead

The President of the Union of the Comoros, Azali Assoumani, was slightly injured with a knife on Friday, September 13, we learned from the government and sources close to the presidency of the Indian Ocean archipelago with a history marked by coups d’état. His attacker, who was arrested in the aftermath, was found dead on Saturday, the prosecutor announced.

“The Head of State was the victim of an attack in Salimani-Itsandra [commune limitrophe de Moroni, sur les hauteurs de la capitale]. Thank God his life is not in danger.”government spokeswoman Fatima Ahamada told Agence-France Presse (AFP) on Friday.

According to a source close to the presidency, also cited by AFP, the injuries of the head of state, attacked during a funeral, “are not serious”.

Two other sources close to the presidency confirmed that the 65-year-old president had been slightly injured. According to a third, “The president has received appropriate care. He is out of danger.”.

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The perpetrator of the attack was a young man “active gendarme”recruited in 2022, it was specified on Friday. His motives and the exact circumstances of the attack are unknown.

The man was found dead on Saturday, the Moroni public prosecutor announced at a press conference in the capital of the small Indian Ocean archipelago. “He was isolated in a room to calm down yesterday. [vendredi] after his arrest. Investigators found him this [samedi] morning unconscious. A doctor pronounced him dead.”said the prosecutor, Ali Mohamed Djounaid, at the Moroni courthouse. “An investigation is open to determine the causes” of his death, he added.

Azali Assoumani, a former army chief of staff who came to power in a military coup, was re-elected in January in a disputed election followed by two days of deadly protests. His critics accuse him of growing authoritarianism. The archipelago has a population of some 870,000.