African leader survives assassination attempt

The man who tried to kill President Azali Assoumani has died in custody, according to officials in the Comoros

Comorian President Azali Assoumani has been “slightly injured” in a knife attack at a funeral of a religious leader at Salimani, a town just outside of the capital, Moroni, according to authorities in the African island nation.

The incident occurred on Friday and was carried out by a 24-year-old police officer. He was found dead in his cell the next day, Reuters reported, citing Comorian officials.

In an earlier statement, President Azali’s office said security forces had arrested the attacker. It added that Azali’s injuries were “not serious” and that he had returned home.

However, Ali Mohamed Djounaid, the Comoros’ public prosecutor, told reporters on Saturday that the suspect, Ahmed Abdou, had been found “unresponsive” in a cell where he had been detained.

“When investigators went to see him, they found him lying on the ground; his body was lifeless,” Djounaid told a press conference in Moroni.

“A doctor declared him dead,” he said, adding that an investigation had been launched to determine the cause of his death and the motive behind the attack.

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Comorian Energy Minister Aboubacar Saïd Anli also told journalists that “the president is doing well. He has no health problems; he is out of danger. A few stitches were given.” A civilian was also injured during the attack while attempting to protect the president, AP cited the minister as saying.

Azali Assoumani, 65, won a fourth term as the Comoros leader after obtaining 62.97% of the vote in disputed elections in January. His opponents accused him of rigging ballot boxes and using the military to intimidate voters. Protests, clashes, and arson erupted in Moroni following the president’s re-election, with demonstrators blocking roads and looting a former minister’s home, claiming that the vote had been rigged.

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The former military officer first came to power in a coup in 1999. He was elected president in 2002 and served only one term. He returned to the presidency in a 2016 election and won again in 2019 with 60% of the vote, more than the 50% required to avoid a runoff.

Since its independence from France in 1975, the Comoros, an archipelago of islands off Africa’s east coast, has experienced more than a dozen coups or attempted coups.