Comoros President Survives Knife Attack; Attacker Found Dead in Custody Under Mysterious Circumstances
A man who assaulted Comoros President Azali Assoumani with a knife, causing minor injuries, was found dead in custody under mysterious conditions, the public prosecutor confirmed on Saturday.
The attack occurred on Friday afternoon during a funeral ceremony for a prominent religious leader in a village near Moroni, the capital.
Prosecutor Ali Mohamed Djounaid identified the attacker as 24-year-old soldier Ahmed Abdou, from the village of Salimani-Itsandra, where the funeral was held.
Abdou reportedly attacked both the president and a relative of the deceased leader using a kitchen knife before being subdued and handed over to law enforcement.
According to Djounaid, Abdou was placed in isolation following his arrest. Investigators discovered his body the next morning, lifeless on the floor of his cell. A doctor later confirmed his death.
An official investigation has been launched to determine the cause of Abdou’s death, Djounaid added.
The government has not provided details on the president’s injuries but did confirm that Assoumani required stitches to his scalp.
Speaking at a press briefing, government spokesperson Fatima Ahamada said that Assoumani, 65, was recovering at home with his family and in good health.
Ahamada’s remarks were made in the presence of most members of the government, along with the governors of two of the Comoros archipelago’s three main islands.
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The prosecutor also noted that Abdou had been apprehended by the president’s security team and transferred to investigators, but they were unable to question him before his death.
Djounaid confirmed that investigations are ongoing both into Abdou’s motives for the attack and the circumstances of his untimely death.
It is unclear whether an autopsy was requested by the prosecutor’s office. Abdou’s body has since been returned to his family and will be buried by Islamic customs, a family source shared anonymously.
The majority of the Comoros archipelago’s population of 870,000 are Muslims.
Authorities revealed that Abdou had served in the military police for two years but had not returned to duty after being granted 24 hours’ leave on September 11.
An anonymous witness at the funeral described Abdou’s behavior as erratic, stating that he had attacked the president with a knife and then with his fists. The witness added that if another mourner hadn’t intervened, the president’s life may have been in greater danger.
Comoros President Survives Knife Attack; Attacker Found Dead in Custody Under Mysterious Circumstances
