COLONEL BACAR CRACKS DOWN ON ANJOUAN RESIDENTS

UNCLAS ANTANANARIVO 000031

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

ADDIS FOR USAU
DEPT FOR AF/E, AF/FO, INR/AA, AND DRL
DEPT FOR DS/IP/AF/E RMEDRANO
PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL MOPS KDEM PHUM PINR CN
SUBJECT: COLONEL BACAR CRACKS DOWN ON ANJOUAN RESIDENTS
REF: A) ANTANANARIVO 25 AND PREVIOUS


1. (U) Tension continues to escalate throughout the Union of the
Comoros. With the possibility of a Union Army landing to take back
Anjouan growing every day (refs),Colonel Mohamed Bacar is
consolidating his control over the island. He is reportedly
positioning his forces at the hospital in the main town of Mutsamudu
in hopes the civilian presence will deter Union Army forces from
attacking, although Anjouan authorities claim their military
engineers are merely there to build an office. Bacar has also begun
arresting his opponents, proceeding down a list of 60 of Union
President Ahmed Abdallah Sambi's family and supporters to be
arrested before the Union Army lands. President Sambi's cousin Omar
Abdallah Ahmed Sambi was arrested, while Omar's wife, children, and
President Sambi's cousins fled Anjouan by boat in the middle of the
night to the neighboring island of Moheli. They are now safely on
the island of Grande Comore, but Omar is still in prison. There are
no direct threats to the 18 American citizens in the country at this
time: 17 reside on Grande Comore, 1 on Moheli, and none on Anjouan.


2. (U) On January 12, the Union Government sent a diplomatic note
to all foreign missions describing how for the past several weeks
the "rebel authorities on Anjouan" have increased "arbitrary
arrests, imprisonment and torture" of Anjouan residents, notably
those who oppose the regime, throughout the island. In the main
Anjouan town of Mutsamudu, Bacar's men are targeting the close
family of President Sambi. The note states that Bacar's armed
personal guards are forcing their way into homes and sacking them;
those taken from inside are driven to unknown locations. The note
closes by appealing to the international community to condemn these
"inadmissible attacks on human rights" and to remind Bacar that such
acts will "not be tolerated or go unpunished under international
legislation on crimes against humanity."


3. (SBU) COMMENT: While we cannot confirm these reports from afar,
it is almost certain that Bacar's men are dealing out rough physical
treatment and beatings during the arbitrary arrests. With each
public mention of the imminent "liberation" of Anjouan by Union
Government officials, Bacar appears to be tightening his grip on the
island's population. Meanwhile, pressure to act is on the rise, now
coming from displaced Anjouanese who have fled to the neighboring
island of Moheli. END COMMENT.
MARQUARDT