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