(ANSA) - BAMAKO, 20 JUL - Two armed men, one of whom wielded a knife, attempted to attack the interim president of Mali, Assimi Goita, during prayers in the large mosque of the capital Bamako.
The attempted attack took place during the celebrations for the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha. The president was taken away from security, according to a reporter from France Presse on the spot.
The last legitimate president, Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, aka Ibk, elected in 2013 and re-elected in 2018, was overthrown by a military coup on August 18, 2020. Under international pressure, the military had decided to appoint a transitional president and return the power to civilians within 18 months.
But last May the colonels arrested the president and the prime minister after the appointment of a new transitional government not to their liking, imposing Goita as the provisional head of state. The colonel had led the two state coups of August 2020 and last May. (HANDLE).