Comoros President Azali Assoumani has been wounded in a knife attack, the authorities say.

He was stabbed while attending a religious leader’s funeral near the capital Moroni but was only “slightly injured” and has since returned home, spokeswoman Fatima Ahamada told the Reuters news agency.

The attacker had been arrested but the motive for the stabbing is not yet clear. The knifeman’s identity has not been publicly confirmed but multiple reports suggest he is a young military officer.

Witnesses said they saw the man in the room, dressed in a robe, where well-wishers were paying their respects to the deceased. They say the attacker injured the president’s hand in the stabbing, before being stopped by one of the mourners.