Post by Tukuler al~Takruri on Jul 21, 2021 16:00:57 GMT -5
at Grand Mosque
Brady Knox - 1h ago
Mali interim President Assimi Goita survived an assassination attempt in the capital's Grand Mosque during Eid prayers, according to the leader's office.
"Attempted stabbing attack against the President of the Transition, Colonel Assimi GOITA at the great mosque of Bamako. The attacker was immediately subdued by security. Investigations are ongoing," a statement from the Mali presidency's Twitter account said on Tuesday.
The attackers posed as ushers for the mosque, then lunged at Goita when he was passing by, according to ground reports relayed by journalist Ahmed Idris for an Al Jazeera report.
An Agence France-Presse journalist saw one of the attackers was wielding a knife but was unable to see whether or not the president had been wounded before he was quickly escorted away.
Later on Tuesday, Goita released information to state channel ORTM, assuring viewers that he was doing "very well."
"That's part of being a leader, there are always malcontents ... There are people who at any time may want to try things to cause instability," Goita said, according to Agence France-Presse.
Goita, a special forces colonel, led two military coups against the civilian government in under a year, the first being in August 2020, the second in May 2021. Goita insists that elections will take place as planned in February 2022.
He now leads over an increasingly unstable country, which also faces a jihadist insurgency in the north.
The litany of enemies of the current regime mean that a large number of different motives behind the attack are possible.
"Right now, we’re not clear whether the attacker is a member of the armed groups that have been operating in Mali and across the border in Burkina Faso and Niger. Or a military officer or even a civilian who is not happy with the government," Idris said.
Brady Knox - 1h ago
Mali interim President Assimi Goita survived an assassination attempt in the capital's Grand Mosque during Eid prayers, according to the leader's office.
"Attempted stabbing attack against the President of the Transition, Colonel Assimi GOITA at the great mosque of Bamako. The attacker was immediately subdued by security. Investigations are ongoing," a statement from the Mali presidency's Twitter account said on Tuesday.
The attackers posed as ushers for the mosque, then lunged at Goita when he was passing by, according to ground reports relayed by journalist Ahmed Idris for an Al Jazeera report.
An Agence France-Presse journalist saw one of the attackers was wielding a knife but was unable to see whether or not the president had been wounded before he was quickly escorted away.
Later on Tuesday, Goita released information to state channel ORTM, assuring viewers that he was doing "very well."
"That's part of being a leader, there are always malcontents ... There are people who at any time may want to try things to cause instability," Goita said, according to Agence France-Presse.
Goita, a special forces colonel, led two military coups against the civilian government in under a year, the first being in August 2020, the second in May 2021. Goita insists that elections will take place as planned in February 2022.
He now leads over an increasingly unstable country, which also faces a jihadist insurgency in the north.
The litany of enemies of the current regime mean that a large number of different motives behind the attack are possible.
"Right now, we’re not clear whether the attacker is a member of the armed groups that have been operating in Mali and across the border in Burkina Faso and Niger. Or a military officer or even a civilian who is not happy with the government," Idris said.
