the authorities launch the demolition of the slum Talus 2, a new start of the Wuambushu operation against illegal immigration

The authorities started as planned the demolition of the vast Talus 2 slum in Mayotte on Monday May 22, the prefecture of the territory confirmed to franceinfo. The operation is carried out as part of the operation Wambushu launched at the end of April. Intended to dislodge migrants from the slums of the archipelago and to expel irregular migrants, mostly from the neighboring Comoros archipelago, this controversial initiative has been thwarted by legal appeals. But three weeks after the aborted start of this action aimed at securing the archipelago, the justice system finally gave the green light to the resumption of the destruction of slums, Wednesday, May 17.

This “decasing” began around 7:30 a.m. local time (6:30 a.m. in Paris) in the Majicavo district, in the town of Koungou. According to the Interior Ministry, the electricity was cut off. Demolition companies and bulldozers are on site while law enforcement has been deployed to ensure that residents have left the shelters before they are destroyed. The demolition of Talus 2 “should last all week”, told the press Psylvia Dewas, responsible for the reduction of illegal housing in the prefecture of Mayotte.

Wuambushu is denounced as “brutal”, “anti-poor” and violating the rights of migrants by associations, but supported by elected officials and many residents of Mayotte. The operation is the subject of a showdown between Paris and Moroni which led to the suspension of the maritime link between Mayotte and the nearby Comorian island of Anjouan for nearly three weeks. The expulsions of undocumented Comorians were able to resume last Wednesday thanks to the restart of rotations.