An OAU mission led by special envoy Francisco Madeira of Mozambique arrived in the Comoros island on Sunday to assess progress in returning the Indian Ocean islands to constitutional rule, Reuters reported on Monday. The team would also assess the impact of the OAU trade embargo on the breakaway island of Anjouan, one of three in the archipelago, which declared itself independent in 1997. The island’s rulers have defied international pressure to negotiate a new power-sharing deal that would give Anjouan and Moheli greater autonomy from the main island Grande Comore. The OAU has threatened military intervention if the Anjouan secessionists do not sign an OAU brokered agreement by next month when the body holds its annual summit.
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