Comoros President Azali Assoumani injured in knife attack

The President of the Comoros was injured in a knife attack on Friday, but only slightly, a government spokeswoman said.

Azali Assoumani’s attacker is in custody, said Fatima Ahamadael.

“The head of state was the victim of an attack in Salimani-Itsandra,” an area on the outskirts of the capital Moroni, government spokeswoman Fatima Ahamadael told AFP. “Thank God his life is not in danger.”

Local media reported that Mr Assoumani was taken to a military hospital where he is receiving treatment.

The president of the East African country, which consists of three islands and gained independence from France in 1975, visited Abu Dhabi in September 2023 and met President Sheikh Mohamed. The United Arab Emirates has been a donor country to the Comoros since 1979 and has invested more than 430 million dirhams in support.

Mr Assoumali became the islands' first elected president in 2002, the result of an agreement between the three islands of Grande Comore, Anjouan and Moheli that rotated the presidency every five years. He was re-elected in 2016 and again in 2019 after a referendum the previous year overturned the power-sharing agreement and extended presidents' terms.