SUMMARY
The non-state conflict between MPA/Republic of Anjouan (Mouvement Populaire Anjouanais: Anjouan People’s Movement) and MPA-SOC (Mouvement Populaire Anjouanais – Said Omar Chamassi faction: Anjouan People’s Movement – Said Omar faction) can be traced back to the dire economic situation that the Comoros experienced after gaining independence from former colonizer France. When Comoros became an independent state in 1975, Mayotte, one of the islands that are included in the Comorian archipelago, voted to remain under French rule. This solution left the remaining three islands, Grande Comore, Mohéli and Anjouan constituting the Union of Comoros. The situation in the newly independent Union was grim, and the inhabitants of the Comorian islands were stuck in poverty and dismay. The economic situation on Mayotte where the inhabitants had voted to stay within the French realm was far better. This perceived injustice became a source of discontent and a factor that led to widespread protests on the islands in the Comorian Union. The discontent was directed towards the President of the Comoros, Mohammed Taki who, in the eyes of the islanders living on Anjouan and Mohéli, was not distributing wealth in a just and fair matter between the three main islands of the Comoros. This injustice and the economic hardship that followed in the wake of it became a hotbed for oppositional and sometimes even secessionist figures to increase their followings.
The political climate in the post-colonial Comoros was fragile, at best; the country witnessed several coups, both successful and failed ones. The French mercenary Bob Denard was a prominent figure in the domestic politics of the Comoros, orchestrating coups and periodically leading private security forces on the islands.
Combining this fragile political situation with the economic hardships, the outlook for the Comorian islands was grim. When President Tarki in 1997 became even more authoritarian in his leadership the secessionist groups of Anjouan and Mohéli became more determined and gained a wide group of followers. MPA/Republic of Anjouan strove towards an independent Anjouan and reached its goal on 3 August 1997 when some 7000 protesters marched to the governor’s palace, tore down the Comorian flag and hoisted the French tricolor and the flag of the last independent Sultan of Anjouan. This was the starting point for the independent nation of Anjouan. The independence movement, MPA, was led by Abdallah Ibrahim, who was also appointed president. It soon became obvious that Anjouan was not recognized by the world community, which led to internal disagreement as to which way to proceed for MPA. The internal disagreement can, somewhat simplified, be described as a conflict between the president Ibrahim, who in the face of the non-recognition argued for an increased dialog with the federal authorities in Moroni and the hard-liners, led by the number two in MPA, Said Omar Chamassi, prime minister of Anjouan. In his eyes, the only possible outcome was independence and a constitutional link to France. These diverging interests soon amounted to a tense situation that resulted in violence and several attempts on Ibrahim’s life.
It was after a failed attempt to take Ibrahim’s life, believed to have been carried out by allies of Chamassi that the violence erupted. The violence lasted for three days and claimed approximately 40 lives.
The violence was confined to Mutsamudu, the capital of Anjouan, and was fought primarily with machineguns and artillery in the narrow alleys of the old quarters of the town. The fighting led to widespread unrest, and thousands of people fled the city and sought refuge in the mountains. Mutsamudu was subjected to looting and parts of it were burned down during the chaotic three days of fighting between the fractions of MPA.
After the conflict ended, Ibrahim remained the leader of the MPA/Republic of Anjouan, a position he held until his resignation in 2001. Following the transformation of power to his predecessor yet another coup was staged. This coup, orchestrated by the naval forces, replaced MPA as the leading political force of Anjouan. The new military junta proved to be far more accepting towards reintegration with the Comoros, and subsequently in 2002 Anjouan once again joined the Union of the Comoros.
The non-state conflict between MPA/Republic of Anjouan and MPA-SOC is first included in UCDP data in 1998. In December that year clashes led to the passing of the threshold of 25 battle-related deaths.
