Khartoum: A Sudanese man hurled his shoe at
President Omar al-Beshir on Monday but missed him, witnesses said,
adding that the assailant was immediately arrested.
The man, who was not identified but appears to be in his
50s, threw the shoe at Beshir in a hallway of the Friendship
Hall, where the President hosts guests, witnesses said on
condition of anonymity.
Security men detained the shoe thrower immediately, they
said. It was not immediately clear why he had attacked the
president.
Beshir has ruled Sudan since seizing power in a military
coup in 1989 and he is standing for re-election in April, when
Sudan holds its first general election in 24 years.
The President, who is wanted by the International
Criminal Court for alleged war crimes in the restive Darfur
region, is the latest leader targeted by a shoe thrower.
In the best known incident, Iraqi journalist Muntazer
al-Zaidi threw his shoe at then US president George W Bush on
December 14, 2008, during his farewell visit to Baghdad.
Zaidi said at the time it was a "farewell kiss" for Bush.
He jailed for nine months but flown out of the country after
he was released for his own security.
The assault caused massive embarrassment to Bush and his
host, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, particularly since
throwing a shoe at someone is considered especially insulting
and humiliating in Arab culture.
Other officials who have had shoes thrown at them include
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao while on a visit to Britain and
Israel`s ambassador to Sweden.
PTI
