Man who targeted President Azali Assoumani dies in cell

The man who was arrested for attacking the Comoros president with a knife on Friday has been found dead in prison, the authorities there say.

The attack took place during a funeral for a well-known religious leader and injured President Azali Assoumani’s hand.

National prosecutor Ali Mohamed Djounaid said that after being arrested the attacker had been isolated in a cell to calm him down.

He said a lifeless body was found lying on the floor of the cell on Saturday morning.

“A doctor declared him dead. An investigation has been launched to determine the cause of his death,” Mr Djounaid told a press conference in the Indian Ocean archipelago’s capital, Moroni.

As for the 65-year-old president, he was “doing well. He has no health problems, he is out of danger. A few stitches were given,” energy minister Aboubacar Saïd Anli is quoted by the AFP news agency as saying. He was also at the press conference, which was attended by almost all government ministers.

The motive for Friday’s afternoon’s attack is not clear but the authorities are looking into it.

They have identified the knifeman as a 24-year-old soldier called Ahmed Abdou, AFP reports.

Witnesses told AFP they saw the man in the room where well-wishers were paying their respects to the deceased.

They say the attacker injured the president’s hand in the stabbing, before being stopped by one of the mourners.

President Azali first came to power in a military coup in 1999.

After a decade out of office, he won a disputed election in 2016 and was re-elected last January.

The vote was marred by allegations of ballot stuffing and was followed by two days of deadly protests.

Azali has been accused of growing authoritarianism.

He served as president of the African Union between 2023 and 2024.