General information
Part of Conflict: Comoros: Anjouan
Date of first stated goals of incompatibility: 1997-08-03
Comment on date of first stated goal of incompatibility: Tension on Anjouan began to mount early in 1997. There were large and often violent demonstrations, mostly organised by different separatist organisations, demanding wage arrears and protesting against the policies of President Taki. Even if the demonstrators were referred to as separatists, there were no clear separatist demands made. In July the tension rose even further and pamphlets were circulated demanding autonomy and calling on the people to prepare for a guerrilla war. However, these pamphlets were anonymous and cannot be linked to MPA. On August 3 MPAs leader Abdallah Ibrahim unilaterally declared the island independent from Moroni, the main island. He was calling for both independence and re-colonisation by France, since the aim is to either return to French rule, or to be an independent microstate in association with France.
Date of first use of armed force: 1997-09-03
Comment on date of first use of armed force: On September 3 1997, between 200 and 300 Comorian troops landed on Anjouan to subdue the independence movement. There was heavy fighting with both casualties and wounded.
First Battle Related Death: 1997-09-03
Comment on First Battle Related Death: On September 3 1997, between 200 and 300 Comorian troops landed on Anjouan to subdue the independence movement. There was heavy fighting with both casualties and wounded.
Date when dyad reached 25 battle releated deaths: 1997-09-05
Comment on date when dyad reached 25 battle related deaths: The fighting started when the government troops landed on Anjouan on 3 September. During the following two days they met fierce resistance from the separatists and it was reported from several sources that by September 5 between 30 and 40 soldiers and "scores of civilians" had been killed.
Conflict issues
Conflict Goal Issues: The Republic of Anjouan, also known as MPA (Mouvement populaire Anjouanais, Anjouan People’s Movement) or MPA/Republic of Anjouan, was a secessionist rebel group fighting for independence for the Island of Anjouan from the rest of the Comoros islands. The group was characterized by Anjouanese ethnicity and Muslim faith as well as nationalistic elements. MPA declared itself independent from Comoros in 1997, which established the Republic of Anjouan, and the group stated several conflict goal issues during this year. Naturally, the group declared its intentions to become an independent entity from Comoros, stating that “Anjouan belonged to the Anjouanais”, but the group also stated its intentions to rejoin the Republic of France. The group also called for economic and citizenship reforms, stating that “Islanders will be free to choose either Anjouanese, Comoran or French nationality” and that “The national currency will be the Comoran franc.” This also included protecting the language rights of the Anjouanese people. MPA/Republic of Anjouan also stated its intentions to hold a referendum to determine the future of Anjouan.
As the conflict progressed, issues of rejoining France and of holding a national referendum were not explicitly reemphasized. However, all other conflict goal issues raised during 1997 were restated in 1998. The group also stated several new issues, calling for the establishment of democracy in Anjouan and rejecting all Comorian laws through a constitutional referendum. This referendum also established a Anjouanese constitution, which contained many further issues, such as protecting the religious-, civil¬-, gender-, cultural-, labor-, and language rights of Anjouanese citizens, ensuring the sovereignty of Anjouan, protecting freedom of association, expression, and movement, ensuring access to public services, and implementing executive-, judicial-, and military reform.
The main conflict goal issue of MPA/Republic of Anjouan was the issue of independence. This issue was both central to the group and shaped its existence and was also heavily emphasized and frequently for the group’s coded years.
Conflict Dynamics Issues: MPA/Republic of Anjouan stated several conflict dynamics issues during its first year of existence, implicitly accusing the Comorian government of unwarranted bloodshed and abuses in its declaration of independence. The group also called upon the international community, particularly France, “to hear the cries of distress of the people of Anjouan” and to recognize and support the movement. Calls for economic support were also interpreted, calling upon the international community to provide the island with oil as the government of Comoros had imposed an embargo on Anjouan, which also indicated calls for withdrawal of sanctions.As no conflict dynamics issues were continuously raised, no main issue was attributed to MPA/Republic of Anjouan.
Conflict Resolution Issues: In 1997, MPA/Republic of Anjouan stated one conflict resolution issue, calling for negotiations provided government troops were withdrawn from Anjouan. Later in the year, the group restated its calls for negotiations, stating that it was ready to participate in the “Organisation of African Unity” talks in Addis Ababa. In 1998, as part of the Anjouanese constitution, the group stated that members of the Comoran government would be held accountable and be indicted for their responsibility of crimes that were committed within their jurisdiction and that they would be brought before an ordinary court. As no conflict resolution issues were continuously raised, no main issue was attributed to MPA/Republic of Anjouan.
Type of conflict issues: Conflict Goal Issues: Basic needs, Change judicial system, Change of administrative divisions, Childrens rights, Citizenship reforms, Civil rights, Constitutional issues, CPS: Democracy, Cultural rights, Disband para-military forces, Economic reforms, Electoral reform, Foreign policy reform, Freedom of association, Freedom of expression, Freedom of movement, Gender rights, Independence, Irredentism, Labor rights, Language rights, Protection of natural resources/the environment, Public services, Referendum, Reform executive structure, Reform judicial system, Reform parliament, Religious rights, Restructure military forces, Rule of law
Conflict Dynamics Issues: Atrocities and abuses, DFI: Withdrawal of sanctions, IFI: Financial support, IFI: Political support
Conflict Resolution Issues: Accountability/prosecution/investigation, Call for negotiations
Annual information
This section contains annual information systematically collected by the UCDP.
1997
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 78 |
| Best | 56 |
| Low | 56 |
Secondary Warring Support:
Side A (Government of Comoros): n/a
Side B (MPA/Republic of Anjouan): n/a
Peace agreements
Name of peace agreement: Addis Ababa Agreement
Date when warring parties signed the agreement: 1997-12-13
Comment of peace agreement: Peace Process Agreement
This agreement was reached after the International Conference on the Comoros, organized under the auspices of the OAU. The parties to the Comorian conflict agreed to convene an Inter-Island Comoroian Conference so as to define a new institutional framework for dialogue, and committed to establish the conditions necessary to hold such a meeting. They agreed to establish a joint Comorian and international commission to implement the agreement. No date was set for the conference.
With regard to the incompatibility, this agreement brought the parties together around a discussion to settle disputes between the parties. The Comorian parties agreed to hold, as soon as possible, under the auspices of OAU and according to the format of the Addis Ababa International Conference, an Inter-Island Comorian Conference with a view to defining a new institutional framework meeting the legitimate aspirations of the Comorians.
Signatories: The Comorian parties (the Government, Anjouan, Moheli and Grande Comore, and the Opposition: Forum/Federation/PRC and National Union for Development/National Front for Justice)
For the delegation of Ndzuwani (Anjouan): Ali MOUMINE
For the delegation of Mwali (Moheli): Mohamed FAZUL
For the delegation of Ngazidja (Grande Comore): Ali Abdou EL ANIOU
For the delegation of the Opposition Forum/Federation/PRC: Moustoifa Said CHEIKH Mohamed Said MCHANGAMA
For the delegation of the National Union for Development/ National Front for Justice: Ahmed Elarif HAMIDI Tolbrane HOUMADI
For the delegation of the Government: Mouzaoir ABDALLAH
For the OAU: Ambassador Pierre L. YERE, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the OAU to the Comoros
Comment of signatories: Comprehensive peace agreement signed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 13 December 1997.
Third parties: OAU
Comment of third parties role in peace agreement: Official observers at the International Conference included
(a) The member States of the Central Organ of the OAU Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution (Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Burkina Faso);
(b) The countries of the region (Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, South Africa and the United Republic of Tanzania);
(c) The permanent members of the Security Council (China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America);
(d) the League of Arab States;
(e) The United Nations;
(f) The European Union.
Signatories to the agreement:
For the Organization of African Unity: Ambassador Pierre L. YERE Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of OAU to the Comoros
Ended: True
Date agreement ended: 1998-02-25
Comment of Duration: At the end of February, a separatist constitutional referendum was held in Anjouan which was ratified by 99.5 percent of the votes.
Full-text peace agreement
1998
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 0 |
| Best | 0 |
| Low | 0 |
Secondary Warring Support:
Side A (Government of Comoros): n/a
Side B (MPA/Republic of Anjouan): n/a
1999
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 0 |
| Best | 0 |
| Low | 0 |
Secondary Warring Support:
Side A (Government of Comoros): n/a
Side B (MPA/Republic of Anjouan): n/a
2000
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 0 |
| Best | 0 |
| Low | 0 |
Secondary Warring Support:
Side A (Government of Comoros): n/a
Side B (MPA/Republic of Anjouan): n/a
Peace agreements
Name of peace agreement: The Famboni Declaration
Date when warring parties signed the agreement: 2000-08-26
Comment of peace agreement: Partial peace agreement
The Famboni Declaration was a peace agreement signed in Famboni, by the central government of Comoros and the separatist leader of the island of Anjouan.The key issue agreed upon was the transformation of the political and territorial structure of the Comoros, granting extensive powers of self-government to the different islands that constitute this small country. The final political structure was unclear though, bearing traits of federal, confederal and autonomy solutions. It was specified that the central government would remain responsible for external defence, religion, nationality, monetary policy and foreign relations; but the exact powers delegated to the islands remained unclear.
The agreement also created a new constitution to be put to the vote at a referendum after the one year transitional period.The agreement was severely criticized by the OAU on the grounds that it contravened the Antananativo Agreement from 1999 (this agreement was never signed by the Anjouan separatists). Also the opposition on both Anjouan and Moroni strongly criticized the agreement that was said to exclude a great majority of the Comorian people and political shareholders.
Signatories: Colonel Azali Assoumani (head of the military government in the Comoro islands) and Lt. Colonel Said Abeid Abdérémane (leader of the Anjouan separatists).
Comment of signatories: Comprehensive peace agreement
The agreement was signed by the head of the military government in the Comoros islands, Col. Azali Assoumani and the leader of the Anjouan separatists, Lt. Col. Said Abeid Abderemane.
Third parties: No
Comment of third parties role in peace agreement: There are no reports of any third parties taking part as mediators in the negotiations that led up to the signing of the accord. Rather, it is commonly stated that the negotiations were secret and that the parties were talking among themselves. No third party signatories are mentioned, but it is frequently noted that the OAU denounced the accord.
Ended: True
Date agreement ended: 2000-01-01
Comment of Duration: The agreement was unpopular from the outset, receiving severe criticism from both the internal opposition on the two islands and from the OAU. It was never implemented, and the parties began fresh negotiations under the auspices of OAU and la Francophonie in early 2001.
Full-text peace agreement
2001
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 0 |
| Best | 0 |
| Low | 0 |
Secondary Warring Support:
Side A (Government of Comoros): n/a
Side B (MPA/Republic of Anjouan): n/a
Peace agreements
Name of peace agreement: The Famboni II Agreement
Date when warring parties signed the agreement: 2001-02-17
Comment of peace agreement: Partial peace agreement
The agreement formally reinstated the Comoros as a federal entity. It stipulated that the islands were to adopt a new constitution clarifying their relationship with a central government, which would be submitted to a referendum before the end of June.
The agreement also stipulated that Grande Comoros military ruler Colonel Azali Assoumani were to head a transitional administration, which would oversee the formation of an electoral commission, a constitutional commission and a mechanism to collect small arms from militia men. There current regimes in Moheli and Anjouan would remain in place until the June referendum, but members of these regimes intending to run for election would have to resign one week before the results of the vote are published. A new transitional government was then stipulated to be formed to oversee the installation of the new institutions. President and general elections were to be held in December 2001.
Signatories: Colonel Azali Assoumani (head of the military government in the Comoro islands), Mr Abbas Djoussouf (national leader of the opposition), Lt. Colonel Said Abeid Abdéérmane (leader of the Anjouan separatists), Mr Mohammed Fazuil (Moheli leader), Francisco Madeira (OAU special envoy), Fr Andre Salifou (the International organisation of Francophonie - OIF - special envoy), and the French ambassador on behalf of the EU, as guarantors.
Comment of signatories: Comprehensive peace agreement
Third parties: Third party signatories of the "Fambini II Agreement" were the OAU special envoy Francisco Madeira, the International organisation of Francophonie (OIF) special envoy, Fr Andre Salifou, and the French ambassador on behalf of the EU, as guarantors. The deal was brokered by the OAU and the OIF.
Comment of Duration: In mid-April 2001, following disagreement over the composition a follow-up committee intended to monitor progress on implementation of the agreement, the Anjouan administration suspended its participation in the reconciliation process within the Famboni framework agreement. However, on August 8 -9 2001, a military coup on Anjouan ended in the removal from power of Said Abeid Abderemane, and the new leadership of the island committed itself to the Famboni II agreement.
Full-text peace agreement
2002
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 0 |
| Best | 0 |
| Low | 0 |
Secondary Warring Support:
Side A (Government of Comoros): n/a
Side B (MPA/Republic of Anjouan): n/a
2003
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 0 |
| Best | 0 |
| Low | 0 |
Secondary Warring Support:
Side A (Government of Comoros): n/a
Side B (MPA/Republic of Anjouan): n/a
Peace agreements
Name of peace agreement: Agreement on the transitional arrangements in the Comoros
Date when warring parties signed the agreement: 2003-12-20
Comment of peace agreement: Full peace agreement
This full peace agreement was signed on the island of Moroni, with the aim of finally settling the issues that continued to plague the relations between the Comorian islands, despite earlier peace agreements.
The parties to the accord agreed that the federal constitution of 2002 was the correct tool for solving the conflict, and thus reaffirmed the federal structure of the Comoros. External defence would remain in the hands of the central government, whilst control of the local police would be placed under the authority of the ‘semi-autonomous’ islands. Further, the gendarmerie would be placed under the joint control of the island presidents to secure a peaceful environment for elections.
The Comorian parties agreed to the holding of parliamentary elections within four months from the signing of the agreement and also to the establishment of a new customs regime, which would disperse customs income fairly between the parties.
The parties also formed a joint commission for the implementation of the agreement.
Signatories: President of the Union of the Comoros: Azali Assoumani,
President of the Autonomous Island of Anjouan: Mohamed Bacar,
President of the Autonomous Island of Ngazidja: Mze Abdou Soule el Bak,
President of the Autonomous Island of Mwali: Mohamed Said Fazul
In the presence of: THABO MBEKI President of the Republic of South Africa and Coordinator of the efforts of the Countries of the Region and the Troika of the African Union on the Comoros
PAUL BERENGER Prime Minister of Mauritius,
JACQUES SYLLA Prime Minister of The Madagascar Republic,
ABDULKADER SHAREEF Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Tanzanian Republic,
ABDOU DIOUF Secretary-General International Organization of the Francophonie,
PIERRE ANDRE WILTZER Minister delegate for Cooperation and Francophonie of the French Republic Representative of the European Union,
MAMADOU KANE Representative of the United Nations
WILFRID BERTILE Secretary-General of the Indian Ocean Commission
Comment of signatories: Comprehensive peace agreement
The peace agreement was signed on the island of Moroni on 20 December 2003 by the President of the Union of the Comoros and the Presidents of the Islands of Anjouan, Ngazidja and Mwali.
Third parties: AU, South Africa, Madagascar, Tanzania, Mauritius and Mozambique, France, UN
Comment of third parties role in peace agreement: The signing of the agreement was witnessed by among others representatives of France, the Prime Minister of Mauritius, the Prime Minister of Madagascar, the Head of the Francophonie Mr Diouf and Ambassador Kahn, special envoy and representative of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
Comment of Duration: A constitutional referendum was held on 23 December 2001 in which approximately 75% of voters approved the 2001 constitution.
Full-text peace agreement
Dyad Archive
This section contains annual information no longer systematically collected by the UCDP.
1997 Dyad Archive
Comment on Yearly Battle Related Deaths: Different sources, citing both French officials and representatives of the Red Crescent report the same numbers; hence it should be rather exact.
Negotiations: YES
Comment on Negotiations: On 10-13 December 1997, a first inter-Comorian reconciliation conference was held in Addid Abeba, Ethiopia. Representatives of the Comorian government, of the self-proclaimed governments of Anjouan and Moheli (a smaller island, which had also declared independence), of Comorian political parties and of international organisations took part in the negotiations. An agreement, the Addis Abeba Agreement, was drawn up, but did not manage to resolve the incompatibility. The net outcome of the agreement lies in the statement that a Comorian inter-island conference should be held as soon as possible, "with a view to defining a new institutional framework meeting the aspiration of the Comorian people".
Victory: NO
Terminated: YES
Type of termination: No or Low Activity
Date of termination: 1997-09-06
Comment on Termination: By 6 September 1997, the Comorian armed forces had been defeated by the separatist troops and fighting had ceased. To date there has been no further military attempts by the Comorian Armed Forces. The Comorian government has, however, never accepted MPA's declaration of independence.
Comment on Termination Date: By this date, the Comorian armed forces had been defeated by the separatist troops and fighting had ceased.
1998 Dyad Archive
Negotiations: NO
Victory: NO
Terminated: NO
1999 Dyad Archive
Terminated: NO
2000 Dyad Archive
Terminated: NO
2001 Dyad Archive
Terminated: NO
2002 Dyad Archive
Terminated: NO
2003 Dyad Archive
Terminated: NO
