The New Nation - Internet Edition

Reuters, Colombo

A young man lunged at Maldives President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom with a kitchen knife on Tuesday in what his spokesman called an assassination attempt, but he was unharmed. The attack took place on the island of Hoarafushi, which with 3,000 residents is one of the most populated in the northern Maldives, as Gayoom met supporters after the inauguration of a renewable energy project. "He was shaking hands with supporters, when a young man came and tried to stab him with a large kitchen knife," Presidential spokesman Mohamed Shareef told Reuters by telephone from the President's yacht. "He was saved by a boy who moved in the way and tried to grab the knife and suffered a serious injury to his hand," he added. "The President was not hurt, but the knife did catch his shirt. It was definitely an assassination attempt on his life." Shareef said residents on the island described the attacker, who was in his early 20s, has been arrested and is being interrogated, as having extreme religious views. However, he said he suspected the attack was more likely the work of Gayoom's political rivals than Islamist hardliners, and saw no connection with a bomb blast in the capital Male in late September, which raised fears of nascent militancy by the likes of al Qaeda in the traditionally peaceful Islamic archipelago.