Comoros president 'out of danger' after knife attack, minister says

Comoros president Azali Assoumani is "out of danger" after he was injured on Friday in a knife attack by a 24-year-old policeman who was found dead in his cell a day later, officials said on Saturday.

The attack occurred on Friday around 2 p.m. local time (3 p.m. UAE time) in Salimani Itsandra, a town just north of the capital Moroni.

"The president is doing well. He has no health problems; he is out of danger. A few stitches were given," energy minister Aboubacar Saïd Anli said at a press conference in Moroni on Saturday.

Azali was attacked as he attended a funeral, according to the presidency. The motive for the attack has not yet been determined.

The attacker, Ahmed Abdou, went on leave on Wednesday before orchestrating the attack on Friday.

Abdou was placed in a cell after he was taken into custody. However, "this Saturday morning, when investigators went to see him, they found him lying on the ground; his body was lifeless," Ali Mohamed Djounaid, Comoros' public prosecutor, said at a separate press conference.

He added that an investigation was being conducted to determine the motive of the attack and the cause of his death.

In May, Assoumani was sworn in for a fourth term following a tense January election that his opponents claim was tainted by voter fraud. Officials deny the allegations.