President of Mali survives assassination attempt

Last updated on September 11th, 2021 at 07:56 am

After being accosted by two armed individuals, one of whom held a knife, at the great mosque in the capital Bamako on Tuesday, Mali’s interim president Assimi Goita was “safe and sound,” according to his office. The attack occurred during Eid al-Adha prayers, an Islamic feast.

According to the journalist, Goita has whisked away from the site, though it was unclear whether he had been injured. Goita was eventually declared “safe and sound” by a presidential official.

Goita landed at the Kati military base outside of the capital, “where security has been bolstered,” according to the spokesman. Mamadou Kone, the Minister of Religious Affairs, said a guy “tried to assassinate the president with a knife” but was captured.

READMORE: Pro-democracy protests sweep Eswatini as King appoints new PM

The mosque’s director, Latus Toure, said an assailant lunged at the president but injured someone else. The terrible attack comes after months of political turmoil in Mali, which is simultaneously fighting a terrorist insurgency that has killed thousands of people and displaced hundreds of thousands.

After launching the country’s second coup in less than a year, Goita was inaugurated as president in June. Last August, the colonel, and other army soldiers staged a coup against elected president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, following weeks of enormous protests against corruption and the country’s long-running Islamist conflict.

The African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) suspended Mali, demanding the appointment of a civilian prime minister, following the country’s second coup in nine months.