Migrants from Tsoundzou dislodged “to shelter them”

This Thursday, state services and the Mamoudzou town hall, via the municipal police, evacuated the migrants who were camping around the Coallia relay village in Tsoundzou. This operation was carried out within the framework of a prefectural decree published yesterday and which is displayed on site. “We identified between 50 and 60 people who were sleeping in this group. We took care of them in order to shelter them and be able to deal with their administrative situation as soon as possible”explains Aurélien Diouf, sub-prefect chief of staff of the prefect of Mayotte. Except that for the moment, the office that takes care of this at the prefecture is still blocked by the Collective of Citizens of Mayotte 2018. “It was an evacuation that was carried out in several stages: first identifying the people who were sleeping in this group, then evacuating them and sheltering the most vulnerable people, that is to say -say women and children”explains Aurélien Diouf.

“There will be no resettlement”

During this operation, trucks and workers arrived to restore the illegally occupied land. “The objective is also to prevent others from coming to settle on the site… We are ensuring with the national police and the municipal police of Mamoudzou that there will be no resettlement”assures the chief of staff of the prefect. He recalls that François-Xavier Bieuville made a commitment during the dismantling of the migrant camp in Cavani. He committed to “do not let groups form and the commitment is kept again this morning with this partnership operation. We cannot have a fixed grouping of nationals, whoever they may be, because it is a danger for them”,concludes Aurélien Diouf. It remains to be seen how long it will take before another informal camp forms elsewhere.