Posted on 12/19/2001 8:59:59 AM PST by Wallaby
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Official: five killed in attack on small Comoros island SUSAN LINNEE; Associated Press Writer AP Worldstream Middle East; England; Asia December 19, 2001 Wednesday 11:59 AM Eastern Time NAIROBI, Kenya
Troops in the Comoros sent to quell an incursion Wednesday on Moheli island killed five of the attackers, a Comorian defense official said.
"Five bodies have been brought to Moroni. They are mercenaries, and one could be a Romanian," said Mahamout Soilih, secretary-general for defense in the office of President Azali Assoumane. He said one government soldier was wounded. Speaking by telphone from Moroni, the capital of the tiny Comoros archipelago in the Indian Ocean, Soilih said it was not clear who was behind the pre-dawn incurison by between 15 and 30 hooded men.
First reports on the Moheli incurison suggested that the participants could be involved in the search for bin Laden and his lieutenants after they disappeared from Afghanistan.
"Whoever it was, they were intent on destabilizing the Comoros just when we are trying to find a peaceful solution to our problems," he said.
The three-island archipelago off the coast of Mozambique is holding a constitutional referendum Sunday that, if approved, would allow greater autonomy to the three islands as well as end military rule in Moroni.
Soilih added that South African Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and her Malagasy counterpart Lila Ratsifandriamanana were expected in Moroni later Wednesday as part of an international team observing the referendum.
Organization of African Unity Secretary-General Amara Essy, who just concluded a three-day visit to the Comoros, on Wednesday condemned what he called "the deplorable act" on the eve of the referendum.
Moheli, the smallest island in the archipelago, is about 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Grande Comore, the main island on which Moroni is located.
Three of the four islands obtained independence from France in 1975. The fourth, Mayotte, which voted against independence, remained a French overseas territory. Since then, the Comoros Republic has undergone 19 coups or attempted coups, some carried out by French mercenaries.
A separatist crisis erupted in Comoros in July 1997 when Moheli and the third island, Anjouan, announced plans to secede in an attempt to achieve a status similar to that of Mayotte. France rebuffed the attempt, and government troops were not able to put down the secession.
Anjouan seceded in August 1997 and has since undergone its own coups.
Assoumane seized power in a bloodless coup in April 1999.
International attention focussed on the Comoros after the August 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, allegedly masterminded by Osama bin Laden and carried out by his al-Qaida network.
First reports on the Moheli incurison suggested that the participants could be involved in the search for bin Laden and his lieutenants after they disappeared from Afghanistan.
A native of Comoros, Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, has been indicted by a U.S. court for his alleged role in the Nairobi bombing in which 12 Americans and 207 Kenyans were killed. He is a fugitive whose name figures on a list of 22 most wanted terrorists issued Oct. 10 by U.S. President George W. Bush.
Assoumane's government has repeatedly denied reports of al-Qaida cells in Comoros, and Soilih said the government stood with the international community and the United States in the fight against terrorism.
Are they getting paid by the letter?
The "attackers", according to witnesses, were a group of about 100 men, some white, some black, several masked, who arrived at dawn on the island at three points and seized the police and gendarme posts.They explained their mission in leaflets, written in French, and topped with a US Department of Defence letterhead complete with bald eagle motif.
NAIROBI, Kenya
"We have no idea what's going on," the official said, who asked not to be further identified. "We were told they were not armed and that they said they were from the FBI." The official said contingent of Comorian soldiers had arrived in Moheli and had not met any resistance. He said members of President Azali Assoumane's government were waiting for more information. |
International attention focussed briefly on the Comoros after the August 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania allegedly masterminded by Osama bin Laden and carried out by his al-Qaida network. Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, a Comorian indicted by a U.S. court for his alleged role in the Nairobi bombing in which 12 Americans were killed, is a Comorian. He is a fugitive, and his name figures on a list of 22 most wanted terrorists issued Oct. 10 by President George W. Bush. Assoumane's government has repeatedly denied reports of al-Qaida cells in Comoros. Moheli is about 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Grande Comore, the main island on which Moroni is located. Three of the four islands in the Indian Ocean archipelago obtained independence from France in 1975. The fourth, Mayotte, remained a French overseas territory. Since then the Comoros Republic has undergone 19 coups or attempted coups, some carried out by French mercenaries. A separatist crisis erupted in Comoros in July 1997 when Moheli and the third island, Anjouan, announced plans to secede in an attempt to achieve a status similar to that of Mayotte, which had voted against independence. France rebuffed the attempt, and government troops were not able to put down the secession. Anjouan seceded in August 1997 and has since undergone its own coups. Assoumane seized power in a bloodless coup in April 1999. |
I don't think France is involved, but French is one of the official languages of the Comoros.
Random non-affiliated French guys apparently invade the island sporadically, setting off pseudo-counter-counter-coupes until some Portugese mercenary shows up and claims it for his Balinese warlord employer.
It is rumored that right now, there's a Sri Lankan para-military force under the employ of former chess great Bobby Fisher steaming towards the island in captured civil war submersibles.
Fortunately, Coppola's there with a film crew.
"A native of Comoros, Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, has been indicted by a U.S. court for his alleged role in the Nairobi bombing in which 12 Americans and 207 Kenyans were killed. He is a fugitive whose name figures on a list of 22 most wanted terrorists issued Oct. 10 by U.S. President George W. Bush."
If bin Laden and other al Qaeda people get to a port on the Pakistani coast like Karachi, they might be able to hide away in a boat that goes to a place like the Comoros. Who knows? Maybe they've already done so.
He's a fugitive, eh? I think that almost certainly means that he is -- or at least was until recently -- in Afghanistan. Might make a good guide for escaping terrorists.
...We will make their couriers disappear. If we can find out how they eat, or play or receive rewards, or where they sleep -- we will go there and kill them by surprise." --- Retired Army Gen. Barry McCaffrey
Those bastages!
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the leader of this invasion spoke French without an accent, so I think the most likely scenario would be another coupe.
Three of the invaders were killed, so I do hope they weren't Americans.
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