Israeli ambassador to Ethiopia badly wounded in suicide attempt

ADDIS ABABA, March 30 (AFP) — Israel’s ambassador to Ethiopia was in a critical condition Wednesday after shooting himself in the head in an apparent suicide bid, senior diplomatic source close to the investigation said here.

The envoy, Doron Grossman, is “in a very bad state” and is to be evacuated to Israel for treatment after being discovered seriously wounded in his apartment at Addis Ababa’s Hilton Hotel when he did not turn up for work, the source said.

“He shot himself in the head in his room in the Hilton where he stays,” the source said on condition of anonymity. “It wasn’t an assassination, we think he tried to commit suicide.”

Earlier in Jerusalem, Israel’s foreign ministry said the shooting did not appear to be a “terrorist” attack.

“He is in a very bad state,” the source said, adding that Ethiopian authorities and officials at Israel’s small embassy in Addis Ababa were unaware of Grossman’s possible motive for trying to kill himself.

“We are very puzzled,” the source said.

Grossman, who is single and 48, took up his post in Ethiopia three years ago and was due to be sent this week to take up a new position as Israel’s ambassador to South Africa.