In Mayotte, about thirty members of the Wuambushu operation support groups, the vast majority of whom are women, demonstrated on Wednesday at the port of Dzaoudzi to demand the resumption of the expulsions of undocumented Comorians by boat, AFP noted.
The passenger transport company SGTM, which operates the Mayotte-Anjouan link with the ship Maria Galanta, announced on April 27 that the links were suspended "until
further notice
", despite the reopening of the ports of the archipelago of Comoros, after a suspension of a few days.
Controversial operations
However, the Comorian port authorities had announced that only Comorian passengers with their national identity card would be allowed to disembark.
"
It is out of the question that the boat leaves the port (of Dzaoudzi) and does not bring back (to the Comoros, editor's note) people in an irregular situation
", indicated Safina Soula, spokesperson for the collectives of Mayotte, after being received by the sub-prefect, with two other spokespersons for these collectives.
“
This (Wednesday) morning, you decided to come in front of the departure quay of the boat which makes the connection to the Comoros.
As you know, the boss of the company has decided to interrupt his connections until further notice, I have no information on the resumption of rotations
, "said the sub-prefect in charge of the fight against illegal immigration, Frédéric Sautron.
Read alsoIn Mayotte, the return of “tickly” women to support Operation Wuambushu
“
We intercepted two kwassa this night
” (makeshift boats loaded with migrants), added the sub-prefect.
“
The smuggler has been taken into custody and will be brought to justice.
The passengers will first be seen by a nurse and a doctor and be subject to an administrative measure to be placed in a detention center pending their return to the Comoros,” he said
.
“
We expressed the wish that these people could leave without delay, and that it is out of the question that we still go and hand them over to the CRA (administrative detention center), knowing that opposite us we have a Comorian government which refuses to take back its nationals
”, commented Safina Soula.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has launched a series of controversial operations, grouped together under the name of Wuambushu ("
recovery
" in Mahorais), aimed in particular at dislodging irregular migrants, mostly from neighboring Comoros, insanitary slums of Mayotte.
Some 1,800 police and gendarmes are mobilized for this in Mayotte.