Concern is mounting in Mayotte before the “Wuambushu” operation, with residents preparing for this vast police mobilization wanted by the French government to destroy slums, expel illegal foreigners and arrest criminals. While many residents have already left or are organizing their departure from the Kawéni district, one of the largest slums on the island, Comorian society criticizes France for the operation in an island that many consider Comorian.
With our special correspondent in Mamoudzou, Roman Phillips
According to the inhabitants met in Kawéni, there is panic: the question is no longer whether the police will come, but when. And for fear of being evicted, or for fear of violence, many of them have already left the premises and dismantled their homes themselves.
On the side of the road, at the entrance to the shanty town of Kawéni, Ali is trying to sell his four ducks at all costs. He wants to leave before the start of Operation “Wuambushu”for fear of violence, he explains: ” The people of the neighborhood begin to prepare. There, it will be catastrophic. That’s why, as we don’t want any problems, we prepare our luggage quietly while waiting for us to go home. I don’t want to stay here and see the violence, because they said they will attack everything. Even if I pay 200 or 300 euros to return home, we have no choice, because if we stay there, it will be hard. »
Ipou, he feels the anxiety rising: ” There, we are in danger, we are in panic and everyone is there, in Kawéni. Because the operation that will pass here, it will be very hot. We don’t know where it will go, but everyone here is in a panic. »
The government has not given a start or end date for this operation, but on the part of the repression of delinquency, interventions have already been carried out on the island since this weekend. Clashes took place in particular on Sunday in Tsoundzou, south of Mamoudzou, and today, a vast operation of identity checks is taking place throughout the territory of Mayotte. Police interventions are in particular underway around the localities of Majicavo and Combani. In the informal settlements, no one doubts that the biggest part of the operation, the destruction of slums, is imminent. A total of 1,800 members of the security forces are mobilized for the “Wuambushu” operation and some residents fear that the 2011 riots will be repeated.
The “Wuambushu” operation also has a lot of support within the Mahoran population, exasperated by violence and delinquency. For some residents, life on the island has become ” a hell “. ” We are afraid to go out, we stress about sending our children to school. Mahorais as foreigners, we are all in the same boat “, said yesterday a mayor of the island. And almost all elected officials, deputies and mayors, are also in favor of the operation. ” It is an operation to reconquer the lost spaces of the Republic “, recently greeted Mansour Kamardine, a deputy from Mayotte.
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The Comorian government and civil society are standing up against the “Wuambushu” operation
In the Comoros, where illegal migrants will be expelled from Mayotte, the “Wuambushu” operation has sparked strong reactions in civil society. THE NGOs and local associations criticize France and the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, for the form and substance of this operation on an island they consider Comorian. The government is also criticized for its lack of firmness in defending territorial integrity.
With our correspondent in Moroni, Abdullah Mzembaba
Comorian civil society unanimously and vehemently denounces the “Wuambushu” operation, calling on France to put an end to it. The press release from the presidency, then the authorities’ speech favoring dialogue, were blacklisted by the Comorian organisations.
The Maoré Committee, which campaigns for the return of the island of Mayotte to its natural bosom, sent a letter to the agency operating the ship Maria Galanta to urge him not to transport the people expelled from Mayotte, at the risk of anger and a generalized boycott.
The local media are also uniting to rebel against “Wuambushu”, relaying daily articles, press releases and other international documents that oppose and denounce this operation.
In the population, the elite shows its discontent and defends national sovereignty, while another part of the population is concerned about the economic aspect, because many people who are in Mayotte send money to their families.
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