Comoros Timeline
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The archipelago of Comoros near Mozambique in East
Africa is composed of 4 islands Anjouan, Moheli and Grande
Comore and Mayotte. Anjouan, Moheli and Grande Comore became
independent in 1975 as the Union of Comoros, while Mayotte stayed
French. The capital of the union is Moroni on the main island of
Grand Comore.
(SFEC, 11/24/96, p.A14)(SFC, 9/12/97, p.A12)
1886
Jan-1886 Jun, The ruler of Bambao unified Grande
Comore Island into the State of Ngazidja, with the local rulers
retaining their titles.
(www.worldstatesmen.org/Comoros.html)
1886 Jun 24, Ngazidja (Grande
Comore) became a French protectorate.
(www.worldstatesmen.org/Comoros.html)
1892 Jan 6, The local
sultanates of Grande Comore were suppressed.
(www.worldstatesmen.org/Comoros.html)
1912 Jul 25, The Comoros were
proclaimed to be French colonies.
(SC, 7/25/02)
1974 Mayotte Island was the
only part of the Comoros archipelago that voted to remain part of
France in a referendum.
(AP, 3/13/18)
1975 Jul 6, The state of
Comoros became independent with Ahmed Abdallah Abderemane
(1919-1989) as its first head of state. Three of the four islands
between Africa and Madagascar declared independence from France and
became the nation of Comoros. Mayotte voted to remain a colony.
(SFC, 9/12/97,
p.A12)(www.worldstatesmen.org/Comoros.html)
1989 Nov 26, In the Comoro
Islands Pres. Ahmed Abdallah was assassinated in his presidential
palace in Moroni. In 1999 Bob Denard (Gilbert Bourgeaud), a French
mercenary and head of the presidential guard, and Dominique
Malacrino were put on trial for the killing. Denard was acquitted.
(www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Ahmed_Abdallah)(SFC, 5/6/99,
p.A15)(SFC, 5/20/99, p.A13)
1995 Sep, Bob Denard, a French
mercenary soldier, and accomplices overthrew Comoran President
Mohammed Djohar, and put opposition leaders Mohammed Taki and
Said-Ali Kemal in power in the Indian Ocean state. The French army
intervened in October under bilateral accords with the Comoros
islands, a former French colony, and captured the mercenaries.
In 2006 Denard was found guilty for his part in the coup and given a
suspended five-year prison sentence. His 26 accomplices were found
guilty but were given suspended sentences or were not penalized.
(Reuters, 6/20/06)
1997 Aug 3, Anjouan Island
unilaterally declared independence from Comoros. It complained that
it was not receiving a fair share of export revenues mainly from the
sale of ylang-ylang flowers, used to make perfume.
(SFC, 8/10/01,
p.A18)(www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107423.html)
1997 Sep, Comoros government
troops under Pres. Mohamed Taki were routed on Anjouan and half of a
force of 300 were killed or captured by people who demanded to be
French again.
(SFC, 9/12/97, p.A12)
1997 Oct 27, In the Comoros the
island of Anjouan held a referendum to re-unite with France and
voters overwhelmingly approved the measure. France refused to accept
the results.
(SFC,10/28/97,
p.A10)(www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107423.html)
1997 Oct 29, Leaders on Anjouan
announced an independent government.
(SFC,10/30/97, p.A13)
1998 Dec 7, On the secessionist
Comoros island of Anjouan separatist militias broke a short cease
fire and some 10 people were reported killed.
(SFC, 12/8/98, p.B5)
2001 Aug 9, Military troops
staged a bloodless coup on the island of Anjouan due to grievances
over promotions and pay.
(SFC, 8/10/01, p.A18)
2001 Dec 19, In the Comoros
Islands troops killed 5 of 13 gunmen who posed as American agents
hunting al Qaeda fugitives.
(WSJ, 12/20/01, p.A1)
2001 Dec 23, The Union of
Comoros was saved by a new constitution which gave each island its
own president.
(Econ, 3/22/08,
p.55)(www.worldstatesmen.org/Comoros.html)
2004 Apr 26, Regional
presidents looked poised to win control of the federal parliament in
Comoros as preliminary election results were tallied. Each of the 3
main islands has its own president and legislature.
(AP, 4/26/04)
2006 Sep 9, The ship Moubarak
heading from Madagascar to the Comoros Islands sank in the Indian
Ocean this weekend in bad weather. Of the 76 people on board, 43
people were rescued after the boat sank. 33 people were missing.
(AP, 9/11/06)
2007 May 3, Forces loyal to the
outgoing president of the Comoros island of Anjouan took control of
a building housing federal offices in what one African Union
official called a coup.
(AFP, 5/4/07)
2007 Jun 1, At least one US
warship bombarded a remote, mountainous village in Somalia where
Islamic militants had set up a base. One target was said to be Fazul
Abdullah Muhammad (35), a citizen of the Comoro Islands. The next
day Puntland VP Hassan Dahir Mohamoud told The Associated Press that
his government's troops killed eight foreign Islamic militants and
five of them came from Britain, Eritrea, Sweden, the US and Yemen.
(AP, 6/2/07)(AP, 6/3/07)(Econ, 7/14/07, p.52)
2007 Jun 2, The Comoros and
Guinea joined the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD) at a
summit of the nine-year-old African grouping in Libya, raising its
membership to 25 countries.
(AP, 6/2/07)
2007 Jul 14, The population of
the Comoro Islands was about 800,000.
(Econ, 7/14/07, p.52)
2007 Aug 13, A boat carrying
illegal immigrants capsized off France's Indian Ocean island of
Mayotte, killing at least 17 people, eight of them children. The
boat carrying 38 people was en route from the Comoros Islands about
125 miles to the northwest when it overturned while trying to evade
the French coast guard.
(AP, 8/14/07)
2007 Oct 10, The African Union
imposed sanctions on leaders of the rebellious Comoro island of
Anjouan in a bid to coerce them into holding fresh elections.
(AFP, 10/11/07)
2008 Feb 19, The African Union
extended by two months sanctions slapped on the rebellious Comoran
isle of Anjouan in the Indian Ocean.
(AFP, 2/19/08)
2008 Mar 10, African Union
troops arrived in the Comoros before launching a military offensive
against the island of Anjouan and its rebellious leader.
(AFP, 3/10/08)
2008 Mar 13, A deployment of
100 Sudanese soldiers arrived in Comoros, ahead of a likely African
Union-backed operation against the rebel island of Anjouan.
(AFP, 3/14/08)
2008 Mar 16, Comoran soldiers
encountered a "disorganized" resistance from rebel forces in Anjouan
and "the confrontation that followed led to the deaths of dozens of
rebel forces. The next day Lieutenant Colonel Mohamed Amiri Salimou
said the National Development Army (AND) army had carried out two
"successful" operations against forces loyal to Mohamed Bacar's
forces on March 9-10 and March 14-16.
(AFP, 3/18/08)
2008 Mar 22, More than 500
African Union troops arrived on the Comoros island of Moheli to join
local forces massed for a military offensive to retake the rebel
island of Anjouan.
(AFP, 3/22/08)
2008 Mar 22, The population of
the Union of Comoros was about 840,000.
(Econ, 3/22/08, p.55)
2008 Mar 25, Troops from the
Indian Ocean archipelago nation of Comoros seized control of the
rebel island of Anjouan after a seaborne assault backed by the
African Union.
(Reuters, 3/25/08)
2008 Mar 27, Comorans staged
angry anti-French protests as France decided whether to give ousted
rebel leader Mohamed Bacar asylum after he fled to its Indian Ocean
territory of Mayotte.
(AP, 3/27/08)
2008 Mar 28, Mohamed Bacar, the
rebel leader of the Comoros island of Anjouan, arrived in Reunion to
an uncertain future, two days after his ouster by Comoran and
African Union forces.
(AP, 3/28/08)
2008 Jun 15, The Comoros isle
of Anjouan went to the polls to elect a new president 3 months after
rebel leader Mohamed Bacar was ousted by an African Union military
force.
(AFP, 6/15/08)
2009 Mar 29, The mostly Muslim
Indian Ocean island of Mayotte, a territory of the Comoros
archipelago, overwhelmingly voted to integrate fully with France,
becoming the 101st department of France. The move will bring
financial benefits to residents but also outlaw practices like
polygamy and early marriages.
(AP, 3/29/09)(SFC, 3/30/09, p.A2)(Reuters,
5/9/18)
2009 Jun 30, A Yemenia Airbus
310 jet with 153 people on board crashed into the Indian Ocean as it
tried to land during strong winds on the island nation of Comoros.
The passengers were on the last leg of a journey from Paris and
Marseilles to Comoros with a stop in Yemen to change planes. Bahia
Bakari (14), the only person to survive, was plucked from the sea
after clinging to wreckage for 13 hours. Investigators on Aug 28
retrieved the slightly damaged flight data recorder and 10 more
bodies from the Yemenia Airways flight. The voice recorder was
recovered on Aug 29. On Nov 15, 2013, France charged Yemenia Airways
with manslaughter over the crash.
(AP, 6/30/09)(SFC, 7/2/09, p.A3)(AP,
8/29/09)(AFP, 1/29/14)
2011 Aug 9, A Comorian shuttle
boat, the Madjiriha, sank killing 60 people off the coast of the
Indian Ocean island nation the Comoros.
(AP, 8/10/11)
2012 Jul 13, In the Comoros
archipelago at least seven people died and six people were missing
after a ship carrying illegal immigrants capsized overnight off the
Indian Ocean French overseas territory of Mayotte.
(AFP, 7/13/12)
2015 Feb 8, In the Comoros
Islands Mohamed Said Abdallah Mchangama, a former finance minister,
was arrested on charges of inciting hatred. Mchangama had called for
a general strike in protest at the government's energy plans.
(AP, 2/10/15)
2015 Jul 27, The US State
Department took Malaysia and Cuba off its “tier 3” list of countries
failing to combat modern-day slavery, leaving the US open to
criticism that politics is swaying the often-contentious rankings in
its annual human trafficking report. Burundi, Belize, Belarus,
Comoros and South Sudan were downgraded to Tier 3, where Thailand
remained for a second year.
(AP, 7/27/15)(Reuters, 7/27/15)
2016 Feb 21, The archipelago of
the Comoros held its first round of presidential elections.
(AFP, 2/24/16)
2016 Feb 23, Preliminary
results showed the vice president of the Indian Ocean archipelago of
the Comoros, Mohamed Ali Soilihi, winning the first round of the
country's presidential elections with 17.61 percent of the vote. He
edged ahead of Mouigni Baraka, the governor of Grande Comore island,
who garnered 15.09 percent, ahead of Colonel Azali Assoumani, who
placed third with 14.96 percent. The three candidates will now face
off in a second-round of voting on April 10, with the winner
succeeding outgoing President Ikililou Dhoinine.
(AFP, 2/24/16)
2016 Apr 10, The island nation
of Comoros voted in a tense three-way presidential run-off election
featuring the current VP Mohamed Ali Soilihi and former coup leader
Azali Assoumani, who ruled the country for seven years. Assoumani
took 40.98 percent of the nationwide vote, just ahead of Soilihi,
the ruling party's presidential candidate, who picked up 39.87
percent.
(AFP, 4/10/16)(AFP, 5/12/16)
2016 May 11, Former Comoros
coup leader Azali Assoumani was elected as president, after last
month's election led to a re-run at 13 polling stations due to
violence and "irregularities".
(AFP, 5/12/16)
2017 Dec, A Comoros
parliamentary report was compiled accusing former presidents Ahmed
Abdallah Sambi and Ikililou Dhoinine of involvement in systematic
fraud and called for criminal action against the pair. They were
suspected of embezzling millions of dollars from a scheme that sold
passports to foreigners to finance development in the Indian Ocean
island nation.
(AFP, 4/10/18)
2018 May 9, The Indian Ocean
state of Comoros hit back against France for suspending visas for
its citizens, a further escalation in a diplomatic row linked to
immigration and territorial disputes. The French embassy in Moroni,
the capital of Comoros, decided on May 4 to suspend issuing visas to
all Comorian nationals. It had earlier suspended visas for officials
and services, after the Comorian government refused to receive, in
its three islands, Comorians deported from Mayotte. In March 2009,
Mayotte's people voted overwhelmingly to become a full-fledged part
of France.
(Reuters, 5/9/18)
2018 May 15, Authorities in
Comoros questioned former president Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi
over his role in a scheme to sell citizenship that investigators say
was riddled with corrupt practice.
(Reuters, 5/15/18)
2018 May 19, Comoros put former
President Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi (2006-2011) under house
arrest just days after he was questioned over his role in a scheme
to sell citizenship that investigators say was riddled with corrupt
practice.
(AP, 5/19/18)
2018 Jun 28, Comoros VP Ahmed
Said Jaffar, who recently denounced President Azali Assoumani's
plans for a constitutional referendum as "illegal", was stripped of
most of his duties as part of a cabinet reshuffle.
(AFP, 6/29/18)
2018 Jul 3, Comoros President
Azali Assoumani and visiting Saudi interior minister Prince
Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Nayef signed agreements worth $22 million to
help finance water and road infrastructure in the poor Indian Ocean
island nation.
(AP, 7/4/18)
2018 Jul 22, Comoros
vice-president Moustoidrane Abdou escaped an assassination attempt
early today when his vehicle was fired on days before a
controversial referendum on constitutional reform.
(AP, 7/22/18)
2018 Jul 30, Comoros held a
referendum to extend presidential term limits and end a system of
rotating power among the archipelago's three main islands, moves the
opposition calls a power grab by President Azali Assoumani. An
electoral official said voters overwhelmingly backed the
controversial constitutional reforms. The referendum was boycotted
by the opposition.
(Reuters, 7/30/18)(AFP, 7/31/18)
2018 Aug 2, Comoros Pres. Azali
Assoumani said figures from the Independent National Electoral
Commission (CENI), showed that 92.74 percent of voters picked "Yes"
to change the constitution, while 7.26 percent chose "No" in the
July 30 referendum. The yes vote allows Assoumani to run for two
more five year-terms starting with an early election next year,
rather than being required to step down when his present term ends
in 2021. Opposition parties and civil society organizations grouped
under the Peace in the Comoros umbrella group disputed the figures.
(Reuters, 8/2/18)
2018 Aug 20, A Comoros court
formally charged former president Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi with
corruption and embezzling public funds in connection with a scheme
to sell his country's passports.
(Reuters, 8/21/18)
2018 Sep 7, Prosecutors in
Comoros issued an international arrest warrant for Jaffar Ahmed Said
Hassani, a former vice president, who opposed a series of
constitutional reforms enabling President Azali Assoumani to extend
his term in office.
(AFP, 9/10/18)
2018 Oct 15, Protesters
barricaded roads with tree trunks, stoned cars and clashed with
soldiers in the Indian Ocean island nation of Comoros in
demonstrations against President Azali Assoumani's bid to extend
term limits.
(Reuters, 10/15/18)
2018 Oct 19, The Comoros
government and main opposition signed a deal that could end the
latest bout of instability to rock the Indian Ocean nation after
violence flared on Anjouan island.
(AFP, 10/19/18)
2018 Oct 20, The Comoros
military started an operation to disperse armed rebels who took
control of Mutsamudu's old city center on the island of Anjouan
earlier this week.
(AFP, 10/20/18)
2018 Oct 21, Residents on the
Comoros island of Anjouan slowly returned to their daily lives after
a six-day siege in the old quarter of Mutsamudu city. The island's
governor Abdou Salami Abdou, a member of the opposition Juwa party,
surrendered to the police, but denied any links to the armed rebels.
(AFP, 10/21/18)
2018 Dec 15, The security court
in Comoros handed down life sentences with hard labor to four senior
opposition figures and lengthy jail terms to several others for
plotting against the state. Former vice-president Djaffar Said Ahmed
Hassane, who has taken refuge in Tanzania, was among those sentenced
to forced labor. Colonel Ibrahim Salim, a former head of the army,
was one of those jailed.
(AFP, 12/16/18)
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