Agence France-Presse,
FOMBONI, Comoros: Tanzanian and Senegalese troops have started arriving in Moroni to help Comoran forces recapture the rebel isle of Anjouan, in a operation officials said Tuesday was a matter of days.
“Around 50 Tanzanian soldiers have arrived in Moroni,” Army Chief Mohamed Amiri Salimou told AFP. “We are expecting two rotations from Tanzania today, around 100 troops in total.”
“As soon as all the African troops have gathered, they will be transported to Moheli,” the smallest of the Comoros' three islands, where federal troops are currently preparing for a possible assault.
An official from the presidency speaking on condition of anonymity also told AFP that a first batch of 75 Senegalese soldiers arrived in Moroni on Monday.
Sudan, Tanzania, Senegal and Libya are the four countries who have been mandated by the African Union to assist the central Comoros government in its bid to wrest back control of the isle of Anjouan from its renegade president, Mohamad Bacar.
Salimou said the arrival of the foreign contingents meant “that we are getting closer to D-Day. The amphibian operation is now a matter of days.”
Comoran President Ahmed Abdallah Sambi's chief of staff, Mohamed Bacar Dossar, also said that the military intervention was well on track.
“We have already won the diplomatic battle by clinching the support of the African Union for restoring constitutional order in Anjouan,” said Dossar, who acts as defence minister for the union.
“We also have the upper hand militarily with the progress made by the Comoran troops and their positioning in Moheli,” Dossar told AFP.
“The next step now is the invasion of Anjouan. It will happen very soon, especially now that AU contingents are arriving. It's only a matter of days,” he said.
The Comoros' federal army — the National Development Army (AND) — counts no more than 1,060 troops, 400 of which are currently stationed in Moheli, from which the assault is to be launched.
Military sources said that the whole operation could involve a total of between 1,000 and 1,500 troops, foreign forces included.
It remained unclear exactly when the operation to reconquer Anjouan could be launched.
Observers have said that Sambi and Salimou both being originally from Anjouan would be keen to minimise any loss of civilian life, while the AU has spelt out that this is a key goal.
“With our Comoran forces alone, we already have good chances of success… Now that we have a coalition, we think that the risks of collateral damage will be greatly reduced,” Dossar explained.
Bacar has defied AU and international calls to step down after proclaiming himself the victor in a July 2007 election the central Comoran authority deemed illegal.
The military intervention against the rule of Anjouan's self-proclaimed leader is also backed by the United States and former colonial power France.
The tiny and fractious Indian Ocean archipelago has survived 19 coups or attempts since it acquired independence from France in 1975.
