Comoros forces fire teargas at Muslims in mosques

MORONI: Security forces in Comoros have used teargas against Muslims who had congregated in mosques in violation of coronavirus lockdown rules, witnesses and a security source said on Sunday.

The incidents occurred in two locations on the Comoros island of Anjouan, according to a security source who asked not to be named.

A witness told AFP that "people were injured, most of them fled through the windows, one of them broke their foot", adding that "even this morning there was still a smell of gas in the area".

President Azali Assoumani on Friday signed a decree strengthening anti-virus measures, which now include a nightly curfew.

The Comoros -- a predominantly Muslim Indian Ocean island group with around 40 percent of its population living in poverty according to the World Bank -- is one of few countries without any officially registered coronavirus cases.

Opposition alliance the National Transitional Council condemned the action, saying Assoumani’s army had “used teargas grenades and firearms against peaceful demonstrators” with the pretext of fighting against the spread of the coronavirus, “the existence of which he denies”.

In 2018, Anjouan was rocked by violent clashes between armed rebels opposed to Azali and the army that lasted for a week.