Registered: Nov 2001
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From the Sydney MOrning Herald Dec 20

Five dead as tiny island battles armed invaders


Moroni: Five people died in clashes after armed men claiming to be United States soldiers landed on the Indian Ocean island of Moheli in the Comoros early yesterday and seized control of its security forces.

The fighting broke out as about 20 members of the Comoran army flew into Moheli by commercial jet to retake control of the gendarmerie headquarters from the invaders.

The dead were two civilians and three of the invaders. One government soldier was badly wounded.

A man describing himself as the leader of the invasion force spoke French without an accent, according to one source who talked with him by phone.

"Armed men landed on Moheli this morning," a Comoran army officer confirmed. Moheli is the smallest of the Islamic republic's chain of islands that has a population of only 714,000.

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The invaders announced themselves as "the army of the United States" and claimed their intervention was linked to the war on terrorism, residents of Moheli's capital, Fomboni, including an ex-prime minister, Mohamed Hassanari, said by phone.

The US embassy in Nairobi and the Pentagon said they had no knowledge of the incident.

"[We are] unaware of any events linked to the Comoros and treat the reports cautiously, given the past history of mercenary intervention in Comoran affairs," a US embassy spokesman said in Nairobi.

Since gaining independence from France in 1975, the Comoro islands, which lie between the northern tip of Madagascar and Mozambique, have suffered a succession of coups, many of them carried out with the help of foreign mercenaries, such as notorious Frenchman Bob Denard.

Telephone links with the island were cut shortly after about 100 armed men - some described as white and others black, some of them masked - disembarked at 5.30am.

They quickly took control of the army and police services on the island, whose combined manpower is in the region of 100, sources reported. The troops distributed leaflets, which claimed they were a US army force and that their intervention was linked to the September 11 attacks.

"Your president is collaborating with terrorists. We are here to protect you," the statements read. They called on the population to surrender their arms.

Recently, locally produced leaflets accusing the head of state, Colonel Azali Assoumani, of having terrorist links, were distributed in Moroni.

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Registered: Jul 2000
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bizarre!

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At first I thought, hang on a minute? Moroni? that sound too much like Moron. This must be a wind up.

But apparently it is not. The island is alwasy having shit happen to it.

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Registered: May 2001
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THE US IS AT IT AGAIN!. Stop invading foriegn countries dammit!

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By Ahmed Ali Amir

MORONI (Reuters) - The government of the Comoros said it had regained control of Moheli, smallest of the Indian Ocean republic's three islands, after a band of 13 masked foreign mercenaries stormed it on Wednesday.

Officials said five of the foreign troops, all white and believed to have been recruited in France, were killed and three were taken prisoner, while the others fled.

It was an eerie throwback to a time when white mercenaries made frequent appearances on the shores of the former French colony to launch coups d'etat, often led by the notorious French soldier of fortune "Colonel" Bob Denard.

The last such foreign-led coup bid came in 1995 when Denard's soldiers were defeated by French troops, but there have since been many local attempts to seize power by force.

A number of coup bids have been mounted this year alone in the run-up to a referendum planned for next Sunday to approve a new constitution aimed at ending a long-running secessionist crisis on the islands.

The masked gunmen landed on Moheli by speedboat in the early hours of the morning, swiftly seizing control of the police station and telecommunications office in the capital Fomboni and cutting phone lines.

But the government on the main island of Grande Comore said it sent troops to Moheli by plane where they soon overcame the invasion force.

"The army has liberated the occupied zone," Information Minister Ali Toihir said. "After an exchange of gunfire, the attackers were killed while the others fled," he said, adding that one government soldier had been wounded.

Phone lines were re-established on Wednesday evening and locals said the situation had returned to normal. One soldier in Moheli said he had seen two of the attackers fleeing by boat.

BIN LADEN RUMORS DENIED

The incursion, which some government officials described as a coup attempt, briefly grabbed world attention after reports the gunmen had distributed leaflets in English linking Comoran military strongman Colonel Azaly Assoumani with Osama bin Laden.

But rumors that it might be a U.S. assault on followers of the Saudi-born militant, top suspect in the September 11 attacks on the United States, were swiftly quashed. Diplomats said the white soldiers spoke perfect French.

Their nationality has not been officially disclosed, but official sources said they believed the soldiers were recruited in Nice in southern France.

Prime Minister Hamada Madi Bolero told Reuters he believed the troops were mercenaries sent to destabilize the government of the overwhelmingly Muslim country of 700,000.

Bolero accused former Finance Minister Said Said of organizing the coup bid. Said is believed to be living in Nairobi and is already wanted by the Comoran authorities in relation to a failed coup attempt last year.

Soldiers also surrounded the house of former President Tadjiddine Ben Said Massounde, himself deposed by Azaly in a 1999 coup, on suspicion of involvement, officials said.

OAU CONDEMNS

The bodies of three of the dead soldiers were taken to the main hospital in the Comoran capital Moroni, but journalists were not allowed in. Witnesses said one appeared to have been shot but the other two seemed to have been strangled.

Diplomats said it was too early to be sure of the soldiers' motives but their action could disrupt the referendum plans.

"This kind of action does not augur well for what we are going to do on Sunday," said Francisco Madeira, special envoy to the Comoros of the Organization of African Unity. "It is a negative thing which we condemn strongly."

The OAU strongly supports the new constitution for the Comoran Federation, which would reunite it after Anjouan, the second largest island, unilaterally seceded in 1997.

"We are going to appeal to the people of the three islands ...not to accede to pressure, and to come out strongly and vote massively, and give a 'yes' to this new constitution," he said.

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Registered: Nov 2001
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thanks, spooky

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Registered: Apr 2001
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quote:

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Originally posted by Deadpool
THE US IS AT IT AGAIN!. Stop invading foriegn countries dammit!

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Registered: Jul 2000
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what's strange is these 13 men thought they could retain control. they sure wouldve known the Comoro army would come in and kick their asses. but then again they are French...

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Registered: Jan 2001
Location: Denver
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Next thing you know, China is gonna take Sealand.

-m

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