UPDATE - Local official in Mayotte calls for killing irregular migrants

CHANGES HEAD, DECK, LEDE; ADDS REMARKS BY FRENCH OFFICIAL

By Nur Asena Erturk

ANKARA (AA) – A local official in Mayotte, a French Indian Ocean island off East Africa, suggested the killing of some irregular migrants from the nearby archipelago nation of Comoros.

Uttering a string of insults against migrants, department council Vice President Salime Mdere told local broadcaster La 1ere on Monday evening that "maybe we should kill some of them," claiming that otherwise, police officers' lives could be at risk in the future.

His remarks came ahead of a planned operation to expel irregular migrants, most of whom are allegedly from Comoros. While a local court suspended the operation scheduled to be launched early on Tuesday, French authorities have said the expulsion was ongoing and would continue.

Mdere expressed support for the operation and said he hoped it would be long-lasting.

France wants to move the migrants about 65 kilometers (40 miles) northwest to Anjouan, the nearest Comorian island.

Comoros has reportedly refused to admit the expelled individuals.

The local administration said it would appeal the decision by the court in Mayotte's largest city, Mamoudzou, to halt the operation, dubbed Wuambushu, to expel the migrants, French broadcaster BFMTV said.

French Interior Ministry spokeswoman Camille Chaize told BFMTV that the operation had begun and would continue, noting that 1,800 police officers had already been deployed on the island.

French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said Monday: "This is an anti-delinquency and anti-slums operation ... And there are irregular individuals."

Estelle Youssouffa and Mansour Kamardine, French lawmakers for Mayotte, expressed their support for Operation Wuambushu on Monday.

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

Last November, Youssouffa accused the government of neglecting years of violence on the island as Mamoudzou faced an unprecedented rise in gang violence.

She asked Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne when she would deploy the navy "to defend the borders" of the archipelago.

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

- Situation in Mayotte

Mayotte has the highest unemployment rate among French overseas departments, according to France's National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE).

In 2021, the annual unemployment rate was 30% on the archipelago, versus 7.9% in the rest of France.

The island also has the youngest population in France, with 60% of its population younger than 25.

Mayotte has attracted large numbers of immigrants from neighboring islands, especially Comoros, in the last five years, mainly women aged 15-34 and their children.

Nearly half of its population lack French citizenship, with a third of newborns being foreigners, according to INSEE.

Authorities last year escorted 25,000 foreigners to the border, local authorities said.

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