On sleepy island, Comoros soldiers brace for assault

A man pushes a trolley past graffiti that reads "All united against Mohamed Bacar" in Mutsamudu, on the Comorian island of Anjouan, July 8, 2007. The sleepy Comoros' island of Moheli has become a military garrison where squads of soldiers are waiting for a cue to invade. (REUTERS/Ed Harris)

FOMBONI, Comoros (Reuters) - The sleepy Comoros' island of Moheli has become a military garrison where squads of soldiers are waiting for a cue to invade.

Lean and muscular soldiers jog past goats and donkeys, while beefy colleagues watch satellite TV in yet another standoff in the coup-prone Indian Ocean archipelago.

This one has been gathering momentum since mid-2007 when the self-declared leader of Anjouan, one of Comoros' three islands, claimed victory in an illegal election.

Now, with Comoros' federal government gathering soldiers on Moheli and threatening an imminent assault on Anjouan to oust its leader Mohamed Bacar, the standoff may be reaching a climax.

"We are waiting for the president's order. That is all," said Soirdre, a 38-year-old soldier waiting with colleagues to sail the short 40 km (25 mile) stretch to Anjouan.

"We're not frightened, but we're sad because they are Comorians like us," he told the only journalist to visit remote Moheli island, which is the closest point to Anjouan on the archipelago off Africa's east coast.

The smallest of Comoros' three islands, with an estimated population of about 40,000 people, Moheli is also its poorest. But it has a special place in the archipelago's history.

It was the site in 2001 of a pact between Comoros' three islands to stay together under a single federal government and agree to a new constitution.

Today it is the launching pad for a military effort to secure that union but residents go about their business largely unperturbed by the moment.

At the shore, the choppy waves of the Indian Ocean flapped against the hull of a rusty shipwreck on a beach where small groups of people haggle for tuna and multi-colored fish.

Any boat wishing to unload its cargo must wait until high tide before it can reach the key.

"No fuel, no cars," mused Laguera Ahamada, a policeman sitting for two hours under a tree -- whose trunk is the width of a house -- to catch a lift to his village.

Behind him, two young men cooked cobs of maize on a tiny charcoal stove, while women wearing ghostly face-paint wandered through a dirt square carrying loads on their heads.

FOREIGN SUPPORT

The Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoros is a fragile state with a population of about 700,000 who are trying to shake off a turbulent history -- there have been at least 20 coups since independence from France in 1975.

First settled by Arab seafarers about 1,000 years ago, the tropical islands later became a haven for pirates.

Comoros' population is now growing faster than its economy. Average incomes have shrunk in real terms for the past 20 years.

The Anjouan crisis has distracted the Comoros federal government's attention from its anti-poverty priorities.

A preacher and successful businessman before turning to politics, President Ahmed Abdullah Mohamed Sambi has been donning a military uniform to inspect new mortars, rockets and vehicle-mounted cannons on Grande Comore, the main island.

His government has acquired two Ukrainian helicopters to back up the planned assault of Anjouan.

The African Union (AU) is firmly against Bacar -- against whom it has placed travel sanctions. Sudan, Senegal, Libya and Tanzania have promised military assistance to Sambi.

With phone lines to Anjouan cut, Bacar has disappeared from view to the outside world. But in an interview with Reuters late last year, he expressed defiance.

"When we're talking about elections just in Anjouan because 'King Sambi' wishes it, then I say no!" he said, adding he would only accept fresh elections if they were across the archipelago.

Bacar charges the federal government with discriminating against Anjouan, which is home to about 300,000 people. Previous attempts by the government in 1997 and 2007 to take control of the island by force both failed.

A reporter who went to Anjouan recently said troops loyal to Bacar look disciplined and well-trained.

Back in Moheli, a hundred or so federal government soldiers with automatic weapons parade for a visiting journalist -- after arresting him for several hours the day before.

In the past, foreign mercenaries had sometimes come disguised as Western journalists, a policeman explained.

At a hotel in Moheli's capital Fomboni, force commander Lieutenant Colonel Salimou Mohamed Amiri declined to give troop numbers or other details, but hinted at imminent action.

"Depending on the ship we are using, we are less than an hour away."

(Editing by Mary Gabriel)