Comoran Govt. Regains Control of Moheli

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, December 20, 2001

Comoran Govt. Regains Control of Moheli

The Comoran government it had regained control of Moheli after a group of masked foreign mercenaries stormed it on Wednesday.

The Comoran government it had regained control of Moheli after a group of masked foreign mercenaries stormed it on Wednesday.

The reports reaching here said five of the foreign forces, all white and believed to have been recruited in France, were killed and three were taken prisoner, while the others fled.

The masked gunmen landed on Moheli, smallest of the Indian Ocean republic's three islands, by speedboat in the early hours of Wednesday morning, quickly seizing control of the police station and telecommunications office in the capital Fomboni and cutting phone lines.

But the government on the main island of Grande Comore said it sent troops to Moheli by plane where they soon overcame the invasion force.

"The army has liberated the occupied zone," Information Minister Ali Toihir said on national radio.

The reports quoted the Comoran minister as saying that "After an exchange of gunfire, some of the attackers were killed, while others ran away."

"The situation on the island is returning to normal," he said.

A Pentagon spokesman said early Wednesday that the U.S. Defense Department cannot confirm or deny an alleged invasion by U.S. soldiers on the Comoran isle of Moheli.

Masked foreign mercenaries announcing themselves as "the army of the United States" landed on the Comoran isle of Moheli early Wednesday, seizing control of local security forces and distributing statements claiming the Comoran president was collaborating with terrorists.