President Azaly Assoumani of the Comoro Islands said on Thursday the Organisation for African Unity (OAU) could take harsher steps against rebels on the Indian Ocean archipelago's breakaway Anjouan island. But he said he was opposed to a military intervention, news reports said on Friday. Assoumani said the OAU would take further action if an embargo imposed last February failed to get the secessionists to abide by an OAU-sponsored accord. "I hope we can avoid having to resort to intervention. We belong to the same family," he told Reuters in an interview. Assoumani said the embargo was beginning to bite, but there was no sign of the rebels returning to the negotiating table.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions