The World's Tiniest War

By Charlie

...Is about to start in the Comoros Islands!

MORONI, Comoros (AFP) — African Union troops will arrive Monday in the Comoros before launching a military offensive against the island of Anjouan and its rebellious leader, the government of the Indian Ocean nation said.

Anjouan leader Mohamed Bacar is at loggerheads with Comoros' President Ahmed Abdallah Sambi after he held local elections last year against the orders of the government and the AU.

"In the next 24 hours, we will see soldiers and military equipment arrive at our airports," government spokesman Abdourahim Said Bakar told AFP.

It seems to me that these types of low-level, persistent conflicts that occur within states are becoming more frequent, yet less reported on in the media. According to Globalsecurity: "During World War I, civilians made up fewer than 5 percent of all casualties. Today, 75 percent or more of those killed or wounded in wars are non-combatants." Although we are cut off from it in the US, conflict continues on the edges of the map, and we should all remain cognizant of the reality of the world we live in.

The Comoros, comprising Grande Comore, Anjouan and Moheli, has endured 19 coups or coup attempts since winning independence from France in 1975.
The union was formed in 2001 by the three autonomous islands to maintain sovereignty in the wake of 1997 secession bids by Anjouan and Moheli.

March 10, 2008 01:15 PM Africa