à quoi joue mohamed bacar?

The renegade Comoros island of Anjouan is heading for armed combat with the African Union within days, the African Union's special envoy to the Indian Island archipelago told AFP Tuesday.

"There is nothing left to hope for other than a military solution," said Mourad Taiati.

A delegation last week visited Mohamed Bacar -- who last year held local presidential polls in defiance of an AU directive -- but Taiati said Bacar rejected all compromise offerings, including fresh elections or even French exile.

"He made it clear he didn't want to negotiate with the AU," Taiati added.

"The AU has been dealing with the Anjouan crisis for ten years now. Today, everyone has taken our position, (Bacar) is isolated and the military operation is an accomplished fact."

A final planning meeting will be held on March 8 in Dar-es-Salaam to discuss the assembling of troops or logistics support from Tanzania, Senegal, Sudan and Libya under the AU banner.

French transport will also be used to boost some 200 Tanzanian AU soldiers already in the Comoros since mid-2007.

"The African (Union) troops who are there to support the Comoros army should arrive within the next few days," Taiati said.

Taiati also told of mounting concern over human rights violations on Anjouan, with "thousands" having fled the island.

According to Comoros government figures, 2,500 of the 260,000 Anjouan population have landed on the main island alone.

"We are talking about thousands fleeing the politics of repression anmd torture inflicted by Bacar's illegal regime," Taiati said.

"We have lots of witnesses to these violations, which is why everybody, even on Anjouan, wants this intervention (...) There is a concensus for (us) to chase Bacar from power."

Taiati said he hoped a full-scale confrontation could be avoided, for economic reasons, but insisted AU authority must be imposed.

The Comoros, comprising Grande Comore, Anjouan and Moheli, has endured 19 coups or coup attempts since independence from France in in 1975.

The union was formed in 2001 by the three autonomous islands to maintain sovereignty in the wake of 1997 secession bids by Anjouan and Moheli.

President Ahmed Abdalla Sambi has vowed to use force where diplomacy failed to regain control over Anjouan and he has deployed troops on Moheli.



©2008 AFP