Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who has ruled Maldives with an iron fist since 1978, escaped assassination while touring the atoll's northern islands on Tuesday thanks to a teenage boy scout who wrestled back a knife-wielding attacker.
"The attacker is being questioned. We don't know the exact motive yet, but four more people were also arrested in connection with this attack," police spokesman Sergeant Ahmed Shiyam said.
Local media reported that two of those arrested were former classmates of Mohamed Murshid, 20, who tried to stab Mr Gayoom with a kitchen knife while he shook hands with residents at Hoarafushi Island.
The 15-year-old rescuer, Mohamed Jaisham Ibrahim, cut his hand while grabbing the knife. He was brought to the capital Malé for further medical treatment amidst cheers from residents who turned up at the jetty to greet him.
Murshid had shouted 'Allahu akbar' (God is greater) before lunging at the president.
Authorities have accused Islamists of trying to turn the islands into a safe haven for them and wreck the country's vital tourism industry, which accounts for a third of the nation's economy of just under a billion dollars.
Despite the attempt on his life, Mr Gayoom is going ahead with his pre-election tour of the northern islands, as he prepares to face multi-party presidential elections in August, his spokesman, Mohamed Hussain Shareef said.
Home to 330,000 Sunni Muslims, some 199 islands are inhabited, with 87 developed as tourist resorts.
Source: news.com.au
No comments:
Post a Comment