The Mamoudzou judicial court suspended, Tuesday, April 25, the evacuation of a slum in Mayotte, the first stage of the vast operation “Wuambushu” (“recovery” in Mahoran) launched by the French government to fight against delinquency and violence. illegal immigration to the island.

The evacuation of the Talus 2 shantytown located in Koungou, near Mamoudzou, which was to begin Tuesday from 6 a.m. local time (5 a.m. in Paris) has been suspended, the justice noting “the existence of an assault” , relating to the conditions of eviction deemed “irregular” by those opposing the eviction. “The prefect of Mayotte takes note of the decision of the Mamoudzou judicial court. He asked state lawyers to appeal,” the Mayotte prefecture told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Shortly after 6 a.m., sporadic clashes took place on the spot between young people from the neighborhood and police forces deployed in large numbers. Not far away, riots took place in the neighboring slum of Majicavo Dubai at dawn, AFP journalists noted. Barricades of garbage cans and tires had been installed all along the main axis of the island leading to the sector. The security forces, attacked by stone throwing, responded with heavy fire from defense bullet launchers and tear gas canisters.

France “will not stop” operations

At Talus 2, a woman and children were celebrating their victory against the expulsion order under the hovering of the helicopter. “I’m so happy, we went to court, we won. Nothing is going to be destroyed, finally rest,” said Mdohoma Hadja, 33, a resident of the neighborhood pointing her hands in the air in joy to the sky. “It’s true the land does not belong to us, it belongs to the general council, but they let us stay here,” said another resident present Monday at the hearing, Hamadi Mohamed.

The prefect of the French Indian Ocean department, Thierry Suquet, said on Monday that France “will not stop” operations to combat crime and unsanitary housing for which some 1,800 members of the police force were deployed to the archipelago. As part of this operation, France plans to dislodge irregular migrants from the slums of Mayotte and deport the undocumented – mostly Comorians – to Anjouan, the nearest Comorian island located 70 kilometers away. . The Comoros on Monday refused the docking of a ship carrying around sixty people. The state representative said he hoped to “quickly resume” boat rotations.