Moroccan diplomat in South Africa was stabbed to death, police say

USPA News - A Moroccan diplomat who was found dead at his residence in the South African city of Pretoria on Tuesday was stabbed multiple times, authorities said on Wednesday, but it remains unclear whether the murder had any relation to his work at the embassy. The diplomat was found dead on Tuesday morning at a residence in the Monument Park suburb of Pretoria, a city in Gauteng province and South Africa`s administrative capital.

Morocco`s foreign ministry identified the victim as Fatmi Noureddine, the officer in charge of consular affairs at the Moroccan Embassy in Pretoria. Brigadier Neville Malila, a spokesman for the South African Police Service (SAPS), confirmed Wednesday that Noureddine had been murdered. "The body was found in a pool of blood with multiple stab wounds," he said, adding that autopsy results were awaited. "A murder investigation has been opened for investigation." Malila said the victim was found by colleagues after Noureddine failed to report for duty on Tuesday morning and did not answer his phone. "The police are appealing to members of the community who have any information that might assist us in the investigation to call Crime Stop," the spokesman said. It remained unclear whether the murder had any relation to Noureddine`s work at the Moroccan embassy, and Malila could not comment on a possible motive. "It is still early in the investigation. We are investigating a murder case and have assembled a team of detectives to do the investigation," he said. Morocco`s state-run Maghreb Arab Presse (MAP) news agency reported on Tuesday that Noureddine lived alone in the apartment.