Knifeman stabs 2 Danes in Gabon
Libreville, ( Gabon), Dec. 17: Two Danish nationals were wounded in a knife attack in Gabon’s capital apparently committed in retribution for “US attacks against Muslims”, a rare assault in a Central African nation that has escaped Islamist violence.
Police in Gabon arrested dozens of people on Sunday over a knife attack in the capital apparently committed in retribution for “US attacks against Muslims”, officials said.
The two men, who were working for the National Geographic channel, were stabbed while shopping in a market popular with tourists, said defence minister Etienne Massard, adding that the attack appeared to be politically motivated.
“According to the first testimonies at the scene, the assailant, a 53- yearold Nigerien man, shouted ‘ Allahu Akbar’ (“God is Greatest”) during the attack. He was arrested on the spot,” said Massard.
The man, who has lived in Gabon for 19 years, “in his first statements said he acted in retaliation for US attacks against Muslims and America’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital”.
The two victims were sent to a hospital in the capital Libreville, one in a serious condition, government spokesman Alain- Claude Bilie By Nze said. The Danish foreign ministry confirmed two nationals had been “wounded in Gabon” without giving any further details.
Massard said the government was treating the attack as “an isolated act” and said an investigation had been launched.
Gabon is a small French- speaking former colony.