France set for air evacuation
NZPA-Reuter St Denis Reunion Island France sent more troops and equipment to the Indian Ocean island of Mayotte on Saturday to prepare for a possible evacuation of French citizens from the Comoro Islands, which have been taken over by white mercenaries. Residents in Mayotte, the only island in the Comoro archipelago to choose to remain French, said two Puma helicopters and about 80 troops from a parachute regiment arrived on Saturday. Three French naval vessels were anchored off the capital, Dzaoudzi, and a fourth ship was believed to be on its way, they said by telephone. The French Defence Ministry, in a statement on Saturday, ruled out a military invasion of the Comoros to dislodge some 30 mercenary officers of the Presidential Guard who seized power after the assassination of the Comoros President, Ahmed Abdallah, two weeks ago. It said France was taking measures to prepare for a possible evacuation of the 1600 French passport holders in the islands. Most of the French troops and equipment flown to Mayotte appeared to be coming from the French island of Reunion, 1500 km south-east of the Comoros. France and South Africa, the two countries with most influence in the Comoros, have protested against Mr Abdallah’s murder, which was widely attributed to the Presidential Guard. They have demanded that the mercenaries leave the islands immediately and have cut off aid to make their point. Residents in Mayotte who were able to make contact with Moroni by telephone said the Comoros appeared to be calm following demonstrations against the mercenaries on Thursday.
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19891211.2.60.8
Bibliographic details
Press, 11 December 1989, Page 8
Word Count
263France set for air evacuation Press, 11 December 1989, Page 8
Using This Item
Stuff Ltd is the copyright owner for the Press. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 New Zealand licence. This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of Stuff Ltd. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.
Copyright in all Footrot Flats cartoons is owned by Diogenes Designs Ltd. The National Library has been granted permission to digitise these cartoons and make them available online as part of this digitised version of the Press. You can search, browse, and print Footrot Flats cartoons for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from Diogenes Designs Ltd for any other use.
Acknowledgements
This newspaper was digitised in partnership with Christchurch City Libraries.
Log in