French official calls for the killing of Comorian migrants

Salime Mdere, Vice President of the State Assembly of France's overseas territory Mayotte Island, has called for the killing of migrants from the East African island nation Comoros by law enforcement officers.

Speaking on public broadcaster France 1 television regarding France's plan to deport irregular migrants on the Indian Ocean island, Mdere labelled the Comorians who resisted the deportation operation as terrorists.

Calling for some of them to be killed if necessary so that other migrants are not encouraged, Mdere said: "I do not accept the characterisation of these (Comorian migrants) as young people or children. They are criminals, rogue terrorists."

"I am weighing my words, some of them should be killed if necessary. If we don't kill one, others will be emboldened and some will want to kill the police,” Mdere said, arguing that the police could kill the migrants in self-defence.

Carlos Martens Bilongo, a French MP of African origin, reacted to Mdere's statement, emphasising that he called for murder on television in cold blood.

According to French law, a public servant who makes provocative, threatening or hostile statements in a public space is sentenced to three to five years in prison and faces a fine of up to nearly 50,000 dollars (45,000 euros).

Demolitions of slums

The Judicial Court in Mamoudzou, the capital of Mayotte Island, temporarily suspended France's operation to deport migrants, known on the island as Operation Wuambushu.

The local court ordered the suspension of all French operations involving the demolition of slums on the island on Tuesday, on the grounds that they were "illegal and would jeopardise the safety of residents".

The slum demolitions were part of the plan to expel migrants. Some 1,800 members of the French security forces were deployed for the operation, including hundreds sent from Paris.

While the court's decision prevented the first leg of the demolitions, Regional Governor Thierry Suquet stated that they had appealed the decision, adding that operations would resume in the coming days.

On the other hand, Mayotte Island's decision to deport irregular migrants and repatriate them to Comoros was rejected by the East African country's administration.

The island nation's administration had announced that it would not allow ships carrying migrants to come to its harbours, refusing Paris' plan to send up to 20 thousand irregular migrants there within two months.