A man believed by police to be mentally deranged tried to set fire to Israel’s Embassy to Ghana here today and threatened some of the Embassy officials with a dagger.
The man ran into the Embassy’s outer corridor, sprayed the walls with an inflammable liquid, and lighted a match. As members of the Israeli mission’s personnel rushed forward, some trying to fight the flame and others to capture the man, the latter drew a dagger and threatened several of the Israelis. The fire was extinguished quickly, while the man ran into the street.
A short distance away, he tried to set fire to another Embassy. This time, a Ghanaian soldier among the crowd that had followed him shot the man down. Police said they believed he was demented. No damage had been caused to the Israeli Embassy, and none of its personnel had been injured. A 24-hour-a-day police guard was placed around the Israeli mission’s headquarters.
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