A-Infos (en) France, OCL: Mayotte, An assessment of Operation Wuambushu (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

Operation Wuambushu ("resumption" in Mahorais, "kill them" in old Bantu) 
is a French military-police operation, planned and announced after the 
end of Ramandan and carried out in Mayotte since April 24, 2023, aiming 
to expel illegal aliens, to destroy the shanty towns and to fight 
against crime on the island. ---- Gérald Darmanin evokes the threat of 
"radical Islamism, particularly towards Mayotte". "We are in Mayotte, 
near the African Great Lakes, which is threatened by radical Islamism. 
Intelligence notes tell us of the desire for expansion of radical 
Islamism, particularly towards Mayotte, a land of Islam moderate." 
"Clearly, we must avoid the Islamist attack of tomorrow and put an end 
to the development of gangs and their criminal organization. We have 
already created the Raid branch and strengthened the GIGN branch. It is 
therefore a resolute and firm action. "

The State had announced large figures for this operation: 1,000 
destruction of bangas (unsanitary huts, cleaning which openly targets 
those from other islands in the Archipelago) and 10,000 deportations to 
the border were to take place.

This operation - which mobilizes 1,800 police officers and gendarmes, 
including hundreds of reinforcements from mainland France (four 
squadrons of mobile gendarmes, police officers from the CRS-8, 
specialists in the fight against urban violence, a total of 510 members 
of the forces of the order) - aims to empty the neighborhoods of illegal 
immigrants and to increase the arrests of young people responsible for 
stones, thefts or attacks in the archipelago plagued by violence 
according to its inhabitants.
From the first week, Operation "Wuambushu" suffered several setbacks. 
First there was this first demolition, planned in the Talus 2 district 
in Majicavo (north of Mamoudzou), but canceled by the courts. "The 
destruction of the applicants' homes, a consequence of the 
administration's decision, is manifestly irregular," pointed out the 
judge in her order, noting an "assault" and explaining that the 
demolition operation could have a "certain impact on the safety" of 
residents.

Then there was the famous boat called Maria Galanta, supposed to 
transport people in an irregular situation from administrative detention 
centers (CRA) to the Comoros. But he was forced to turn back before even 
passing French territorial waters because the Comorian ports kept their 
doors closed. While Operation Wuambushu was to allow massive expulsions 
of Comorians based in Mayotte sometimes for decades - between 70 and 80 
people are already expelled every day on average throughout the year - 
these multiple These developments are the sign of a bitter failure for 
the prefectural authorities and the Ministry of the Interior.

To give impetus to Operation Wuambushu and try to reassure, early in the 
morning of Thursday, a demolition of permanent houses was launched in 
Longoni, north of Mayotte, then announced with great fanfare by the 
prefect of Mayotte, Thierry Suquet. Yes, but here it is: this demolition 
had nothing to do with Wuambushu, and the homes concerned had already 
been empty for some time.
"There is no removal, no deportation against a backdrop of diplomatic 
mess with the Comoros, no particular impact on the arrests despite what 
Darmanin says.»
Operation Wuambushu was planned to last two months, but was finally 
extended. At the end of June, the objective increases to 1,250 
destructions by the end of the year.

There are no official statistics that support the fallacious assertions 
of Mahorais elected officials who attribute this violence exclusively to 
young people from populations coming from the Union of the Comoros. This 
youth responsible for delinquency and riots on public roads is made up 
of a majority of young people without families, raised on the streets - 
their parents being expelled - but others come from poor Mahorese 
families. Prefect Thierry Suquet recognized that "Mayotte is once again 
experiencing troubled and violent periods and times", announcing police 
reinforcements promised by the Ministry of the Interior. According to 
the gendarmerie, a new squadron of 70 soldiers must come to reinforce 
the 350 gendarmes on site. According to the territorial director of the 
national police in Mayotte, "These eruptions of violence happen 
regularly", and he is also asking for new reinforcements to support his 
750 police officers.

 If we only look at the figures, Wuambushu has not met its objectives 
in the fight against illegal immigration. According to Matignon, 22,000 
people had been expelled at the beginning of December 2023 to the 
Comoros. However, this was the primary argument of the operation, 
Mayotte attracting thousands of migrants arriving by sea each year, 
mainly from the neighboring Comorian island of Anjouan. According to the 
sub-prefect in charge of illegal immigration, Frédéric Sautron, "25,380 
people had been removed" from the territory in 2022.
According to a police officer from the administrative detention center 
(CRA) "The problem is diplomatic. We know very well that these people 
come back, sometimes under another identity. We apply the policy of 
numbers. But that's no use, we have to find an agreement with the Comoros.»

This was the other priority objective of Operation Wuambushu: to destroy 
the unsanitary bangas[huts]organized in shanty towns, which have 
multiplied in Mayotte and are sometimes threatened by landslides. With 
the last huts destroyed, in Mtsamoudou[south-east]in November, only 700 
bangas were destroyed. In 2021, "1,600 sheet metal huts had been 
destroyed," indicates the representative of the Human Rights League 
(LDH) in Mayotte, who adds that the department is hampered by a glaring 
lack of rehousing solutions and that "the displaced families , who find 
themselves on the street, inevitably rebuild elsewhere." In total, "30% 
of housing in Mayotte is informal," says Matignon.

France is losing its footing in its African pre-square. It is 
nevertheless its preponderant African presence which until now gave it a 
major place in the global political scene, apart from nuclear deterrence 
and its right of veto in the Security Council. Mayotte, which has 
remained a thorn in France's side since 1975, can hurt it in today's 
context.

Camille, January 17, 2024

to read in Alternating Current
Mayotte, towards a genocidal drift? (October 2023)
MAYOTTE / COMOROS ARCHIPELAGO: Genealogy of a policy of the worst (June 
2023)

http://oclibertaire.lautre.net/spip.php?article4076
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