Assault on Mali’s interim leader with a knife

At a mosque in the capital, Bamako, some men attempted to knife Mali’s temporary President Assimi Gota.

Col Gota was in the Grand Mosque for Eid ul-Adha prayers.

The authorities said the assailants, who were identified as two by the AFP news agency, have been apprehended and the president relocated.

It is unknown whether Col Gota, who spearheaded a military coup in August, sustained any injuries.

Minister of Religious Affairs Mamadou Kone told AFP that a guy “attempted to assassinate the president with a knife.” According to the mosque’s director, the guy rushed at the president but injured someone else.

Prior to last August’s coup, the nation faced rallies against corruption and an Islamist insurgency.

Col Gota interfered once more in May, deposing a transitional government and assuming the presidency — he pledged to return to civilian administration next year as planned.