Slovak PM Fico Makes First Public Appearance since Assassination Attempt

Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico speaks during a press conference with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the Carmelite Monastery in Budapest, Hungary, Jan. 16, 2024. (AP)
Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico speaks during a press conference with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the Carmelite Monastery in Budapest, Hungary, Jan. 16, 2024. (AP)
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Slovak PM Fico Makes First Public Appearance since Assassination Attempt

Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico speaks during a press conference with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the Carmelite Monastery in Budapest, Hungary, Jan. 16, 2024. (AP)
Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico speaks during a press conference with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the Carmelite Monastery in Budapest, Hungary, Jan. 16, 2024. (AP)

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico appeared in public on Friday for the first time since a May assassination attempt.

Fico, who is recovering after being shot four times at close range in mid-May, spoke at a podium at an evening ceremony marking Saints Cyril and Methodius Day, a public holiday in Slovakia.

Fico, a four-time leftist prime minister who returned to power after winning an election last September, had been shot when he greeted supporters at a government meeting in the central Slovak town of Handlova, leaving him needing hours of surgery.

He has been recovering at home since the end of May.

His attacker, a man identified by prosecutors as 71-year old Juraj C., was detained and charged with attempted premeditated murder. Prosecutors this week upgraded the case to a terrorist attack.

The attack on Fico has highlighted the deep polarization of politics in the central European country of 5.4 million.

In a video message posted on Facebook in early June, Fico called his attacker an opposition activist, but said he felt no hatred toward the attacker and would not seek damages.

His return to power has marked a sharp shift in policy which critics say raises worries about the rule of law and media freedom, as well as hurting relations with the European Union and NATO member state's allies.

The detained man has, according to court documents, said he had wanted to hurt the prime minister, but not kill him, because he disagreed with policies including cancelling a special prosecutor's office and stopping state military aid to Ukraine as it battles Russia's invasion.

The leftist-nationalist government has also faced opposition-led protests and has fought with Slovakia's mainstream media outlets.

This month, it began the transformation of the public broadcaster despite worries from opposition and media watchdogs that it will limit press freedom.



Tens Killed, Injured in West Kordofan, Reports Say

 The public hospital in the city of Al-Majlad before the attack 
 The public hospital in the city of Al-Majlad before the attack 
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Tens Killed, Injured in West Kordofan, Reports Say

 The public hospital in the city of Al-Majlad before the attack 
 The public hospital in the city of Al-Majlad before the attack 

Dozens of people were killed and injured in a drone strike on a public hospital in the city of Al-Majlad, in the western state of Kordofan, western Sudan. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and local bodies blamed the Sudanese Army (SAF) for the attack.

“The shelling on Saturday afternoon killed 34 civilians, including medical personnel, and wounded dozens more,” the RSF said in a statement on Sunday.

Also, Al-Majlad Emergency Room, a local group in the West Kordofan State, posted a statement on its Facebook page, blaming the army for the attack.

Until Sunday evening, the Sudanese army had not responded to the accusations. Its official spokesman, Nabil Abdullah, has not answered calls for comment.

According to local sources, the attack on the hospital came shortly after the RSF had transferred to the facility dozens of its members injured in the fierce clashes that broke out last week with the SAF in Babanusa.

On Saturday, the Sudanese army had said in a statement that its forces in the 22nd Infantry Division operating in Babanusa, repelled a major RSF attack on the city.

On Sunday, the Emergency Lawyers, a rights group that monitors abuses in the Sudanese war, confirmed the deaths and injuries in the raid on Al-Majlad’s hospital.

“The hospital is one of the state's primary health facilities. It houses a dialysis unit that provides regular services to patients,” the group said, adding that the attack constitutes a “serious violation.”

The lawyers added, “We categorically reject any explanations that could be offered to justify this attack. We hold the parties behind the shelling fully responsible for the human and material losses.”

Meanwhile, local sources said that the majority of residents in Al-Majlad and the nearby towns and villages, mainly rely on this hospital to receive treatment and healthcare.

Earlier, SAF media sources said on social media that the military had carried out an airstrike on the city of Al-Majdal, without specifying the targeted area.

Despite international calls to protect hospitals during armed conflict, medical facilities have been repeatedly attacked, with both sides of conflict blaming each other for the incidents.

Last May, the SAF blamed the RSF for the attack on a hospital in Obeid, the capital of northern Kordofan, where six people were killed and 12 others injured.