Keyword: Comoros

Migrant crisis leads to growing violence on French overseas territory of Mayotte

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Having lost both legs when injured by a police boat while trying to get to Mayotte, Djassadi Farid now lives with the help of his father not far from the capital Mamoudzou. © JS Having lost both legs when injured by a police boat while trying to get to Mayotte, Djassadi Farid now lives with the help of his father not far from the capital Mamoudzou. © JS

Violence is reaching unprecedented levels in the French overseas département of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean, prompted by the arrival of migrants from the neighbouring island nation of Comoros on makeshift boats. The result has been regular expulsions and repatriation of illegal migrants, clashes between the new arrivals and locals, and even riots. The situation has been exacerbated by the Covid crisis. Meanwhile the heavy-handed security response by the authorities in this small département has caused disquiet among local associations. Julien Sartre reports.

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Macron sparks row with migrants' boat joke

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President made joke about small boats often used by migrants to sail from Comoros islands to France's Mayotte, with many dying en route.

Eight-year-old boy held for more than a week at French airport

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The boy, whose mother had put him on a flight from the Comoros Islands, was detained after trying to enter France on a false passport.

France charges Yemenia Airways over deadly 2009 crash

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The Yemen national airline faces manslaughter charges over crash off the Comoros Islands that killed 152 people and left just one survivor.

Comoros boat sinks, at least 30 dead

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At least 30 people have died after their boat sank off the Indian Ocean archipelago of Comoros, officials say.