Comoros fails to subdue rebels

More than 30 people, including soldiers and secessionists, died in Comoros in a failed attempt to crush a separatist rebellion on Anjouan island, a Comoros Red Crescent official said yesterday.

The official spoke by telephone from the nearby island of Moheli shortly after a French radio station reported a preliminary death toll of 40 Comoran soldiers killed in the fighting on Wednesday and Thursday. The government of the embattled President, Mohamed Taki, has cut direct telephone links with Anjouan and has censored news about the fighting on Comoran state radio. Reuters - Moroni