France's anti-migration operation on Indian Ocean territory 'as long as necessary'

By Nur Asena Erturk

ANKARA (AA) - France vowed on Friday to continue efforts to expel irregular migrants from the island of Mayotte, one of its offshore territories in the Indian Ocean.

"There is no date, and we will leave the number of police officers and gendarmes necessary for Mayotte to once again be a normal, classic, and magnificent island," Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told broadcaster Europe 1 on the initiative, dubbed Operation Wuambushu.

"We will continue this Wuambushu operation for as long as necessary," Darmanin asserted.

Paris launched the operation on Tuesday morning to expel irregular migrants from Mayotte which is located off southeastern Africa near Madagascar.

The operation is targeting the slums on Mayotte where the migrants have taken up residence, with 1,800 police and gendarmerie officers deployed to evacuate the shantytowns.

Operation Wuambushu faced controversy soon after its launch, when a local court ordered the suspension of evacuations.

On the matter, Darmanin said the ruling was appealed, with authorities giving the green light to level slum neighborhoods.

He said security forces had so far arrested 25 suspects, including 15 on the previous night, with authorities still seeking 35 others.

Most of the migrants are from the neighboring archipelago nation of Comoros, which has refused to admit individuals so far been expelled from the French territory, according to media reports.

Commenting on a suggestion by a French politician to halt the €150 million ($165.6 million) of development aid that France provides Comoros, Darmanin argued this would only push Comoros into the arms of Russia.

In a 2019 agreement, Comoros committed to cooperation with France on migration issues in exchange for development aid.

- Issues on Mayotte

Estelle Youssouffa, a member of the French parliament for the Mayotte archipelago, voiced support for Operation Wuambushu on Monday.

"The slums are homes of insecurity, violence, hosting traffickers, and gangs who spread terror," she said.

Last November, Youssouffa accused the government of neglecting the region for years, while Mamoudzou, the biggest city in Mayotte, has faced a spike in gang violence.

The lawmaker asked Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne to deploy the navy "in order to defend the borders" of the region.

"What do you intend to do to prevent a civil war in Mayotte?" she asked.

- Situation in Mayotte

Over the last five years, Mayotte has attracted rising numbers of migrants from neighboring islands, especially Comoros, mainly women aged 15 to 34 and their children, according to official figures

Nearly half of its population lack French citizenship, while a third of those born on the island are foreigners, data from the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies shows.

Authorities last year escorted 25,380 foreigners to the border, local officials have said.

Mayotte became a French protectorate in 1841 and a department of France in 2011 following a referendum.