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COMOROS: Concerns over possible social unrest

PORT LOUIS Friday, August 22, 2008 (IRIN) - High food and fuel prices may push Comoros to the brink of "social unrest" says a senior UN official. Hopes were raised in Comoros when the government ousted rebel leader Mohammed Bacar in a military operation in March 2008 to take control of Anjouan Island, and officials promised that the assault would bring long-awaited stability to the three-island archipelago in the Indian Ocean. But, rather than ending a painful history of coups, political...

COMOROS: Cost of democracy thwarts development

PORT LOUIS Wednesday, October 22, 2008 (IRIN) - The expense of maintaining democracy in Comoros is proving such a burden that the government is contemplating wholesale changes, possibly fomenting the very divisions its complex governance system was designed to thwart. The three-island state introduced the constitution in 2001 - a direct consequence of the islands of Moheli and Anjouan unilaterally declaring independence in 1997 - in a bid to end the cycle of coups and secession attempts that...

COMOROS: Anjouan situation worse than thought

With preparations for new local elections under way, following a successful military venture by the Comoros Union government and African Union (AU) troops to restore order to the renegade island by force, deeper humanitarian concerns have emerged. Last week a combined military force toppled Mohamed Bacar, a rebel leader who had defied demands to re-run local elections, deemed illegal by the AU and Union government. Bacar has fled and is believed to be on the French isalnd of Reunion. "We have...

COMOROS: No quick fix after military strike

The end of Mohamed Bacar's rebel rule in Anjouan could boost political stability on the Comoros archipelago, but the humanitarian problems will take longer to fix. Backed by troops from African Union member states, the Comoros government took control of Anjouan this week in a military strike to topple the renegade leader, who had defied demands to re-run local elections held in June, condemned as fraudulent. Hundreds of Anjouanese fled the island while Bacar was in power, or just before the...

African troops invade rebel-held island of Anjouan

Comoros, backed by African Union forces, has invaded the island of Anjouan in an effort to topple the rebel leadership of Mohamed Bacar, who has been seeking independence from Comoros. Around 450 troops disembarked on Monday, landing in the capital of Mutsamudu on Tuesday at dawn, where a jubilant crowd cheered for them. They joined the nearly 1,500 African Union forces from Sudan and Tanzania, with Libya, France, and the United States providing logistical support for the operation. The...

COMOROS: New polls promised as military take over Anjouan

Comoros will establish an interim government on the island of Anjouan by the end of the week, paving the way for a swift democratic election on the renegade island, a government official said on Wednesday. The Comoros government, supported by soldiers from Tanzania and Sudan, quickly took control of Anjouan on Tuesday 25 March in a military operation aimed at toppling renegade leader, Mohamed Bacar. “The operation went very smoothly, there were no casualties. There were no heavy...

COMOROS: Union government takes control of rebel island

Comoros took control of its rebel island of Anjouan on Tuesday in a military operation aimed at toppling renegade leader, Mohamed Bacar, a government official said. "The operation started in the early morning hours and it is going smoothly and according to plan," Abdourahim Said Bakar, a spokesman for the Union government told IRIN. "The military has taken control over most of the island - the airport and Anjouan's capital, Mutsamudu." The Comoros government, supported by a coalition...

COMOROS: South Africa disappoints Comoros on the eve of military action

The Comoros government has expressed "disappointment" with South African President Thabo Mbeki's reported opposition to a military solution to end the standoff between the authorities on Anjouan and the other two islands in the Indian Ocean archipelago. The crisis has been simmering since June 2007, when national elections were held. The Union government and the African Union (AU) postponed the poll on Anjouan, citing irregularities and intimidation in the run-up to voting, but Anjouan...

COMOROS: On the edge of a "military solution"

In line with a long tradition of foreign military intervention, official and clandestine, international forces are moving in to help the Union government of Comoros re-establish control over the renegade island of Anjouan and save the fragile three-island state in the Indian Ocean from falling apart. After an African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council meeting on 20 February, the African body revised its stance on the political conflict in the Union of Comoros, moving from fruitless...

COMOROS: So far the keyboard is mightier than the sword

 Cyberspace is the new frontier in the simmering Comoros conflict, with a surge in blogs by Comorians venting their opinions on the dispute between the semi-autonomous island of Anjouan and its renegade leader, and a Union government determined to bring him to heel. The cost and difficulty of accessing the internet had kept online traffic low in the Comoros, with chatter mainly among Comorians living in France, the former colonial power. However, the threatened invasion of Anjouan by the Union...