Comoros President Wounded In Knife Attack During Funeral Of Prominent Religious Leader

Comoros President Azali Assoumani was slightly wounded in a knife attack Friday, the presidency said, adding that the attacker had been arrested.

“The President of the Republic Azali Assoumani was slightly wounded by a knife while attending the funeral” of a well-known religious leader, it said in a statement. “His injuries are not serious, and he has returned home. The attacker is in the hands of the security services,” it added.

Government spokeswoman Fatima Ahamadael told AFP that the attack happened in Salimani-Itsandra, an area on the outskirts of the capital Moroni. “Thank God, his life is not in danger,” she said, declining to give further details. Witnesses told AFP that the attacker was a 22-year-old with no criminal history, who had joined the army in 2022. He was dressed in a boubou, and was in the room with the religious leader’s body, as mourners were paying respects, they said.

The knife injured the president’s hand, but the attacker was stopped by another mourner, the witnesses said. A source close to the presidency, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “The president has received appropriate care. He is out of danger.” A second source, also speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that the attacker was a young “active-duty gendarme”.

No other details were immediately available. After the attack, the neighbourhood remained tense, with gendarmes on the scene. Residents hurried home, sometimes pausing to whisper in small groups on the streets. Azali, 65, a former military ruler who came to power in a coup in 1999, was re-elected president in January after a disputed vote that was followed by two days of deadly protests. He has been accused of growing authoritarianism.

In August, he granted new powers to his son, in a move that critics said was a step towards consolidating the family’s rule over the small African island nation. Nour El Fath Azali, who is Azali’s eldest son, was appointed secretary general of Comoros in July. With his new powers, he must approve all decrees issued by ministers and governors.

Critics said that elevates his role to that of de facto prime minister. In January, President Azali won a vote which his opponents said was marred by fraud. Court challenges to the election were dismissed. One person was killed and several others injured in the violence that erupted in the aftermath of the election in the country of some 870,000 people. His arch-rival, former president Ahmed Abdallah Sambi, is serving a life sentence for high treason for allegedly selling passports.