French Army Intervenes; Storms Island Mercenary Ready To End Standoff On Comoro Islands
After releasing unharmed the kidnapped Comoran president, French mercenary Bob Denard appeared ready to abandon his coup attempt on the Comoro Islands Wednesday under pressure from nearly 1,000 French troops who stormed ashore at dawn to restore order on the Indian Ocean archipelago.
France’s armed intervention to suppress the six-day uprising met with little resistance from the islands’ 500,000 inhabitants. Denard, a 66-year-old veteran of African conflicts who has been involved in three previous coups on the islands and is married to a Comoran, gave orders to the 500 Comoran soldiers and some three dozen mercenaries under his command not to contest the French invasion force.
Denard first vowed that he and his fellow coup leader, rebel Comoran Capt. Combo Ayouba, would not bow to what he described as a wanton display of French imperialism. “The Comorans don’t need this. The French have done something very bad. It’s illegal, it stinks, it’s dishonest. I have a debt of honor to this island,” he told reporters, as the first wave of French troops moved in to secure the airport and area around the French Embassy.
French authorities in Paris quickly announced, however, that Denard had surrendered. But then Gen. Raymond Germanos, chief military adviser to Defense Minister Charles Millon, had to retract that report, saying the notorious mercenary is still negotiating terms of surrender from his base at Kandani barracks in the Comoran capital, Moroni.
These will include an amnesty for his troops, presumably the foreign mercenaries as well as Comoran rebels, Germanos said.
In an interview broadcast Wednesday night, Denard said he is no longer looking to fight and wants an honorable way to resolve the standoff. After releasing President Siad Mohamed Djohar to the custody of the French Embassy, Denard acknowledged being “caught in a trap” and said he wants to ensure the safety of his men before turning himself over to French authorities.
The French government, which at first denied any intention to intervene, said it became necessary to use force to oust the aging soldier of fortune and his fellow dogs of war after it became clear they would not step aside voluntarily. Denard served as the uncrowned ruler of the Comoros for 12 years until French forces intervened in 1989.
French Foreign Minister Herve De Charette said his government acted on a request for military assistance from Comoran Prime Minister Caabi Elyachroutu, who had taken refuge during the coup inside the French Embassy. Shortly after French troops arrived from the neighboring island of Mayotte, where France still acts as the sovereign power, Elyachroutu declared a new government of national unity.