Comoros says ships flouting naval blockade

By Ahmed Ali Amir

MORONI, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Sanctions on a rebel island in Comoros are being flouted, the archipelago's federal government said on Tuesday, as African Union officials visited the nearby French-governed island of Mayotte to discuss compliance.

An AU naval blockade on Anjouan, one of Comoros' three main islands, began at the weekend and aims to enforce sanctions that include a travel ban on some 150 local officials who have stayed in power following disputed elections in June.

But a senior Comorian official said some ships were ignoring the sanctions, including an Anjouanais ship that travelled to Tanzania from the island on Saturday without stopping at other Comorian ports for inspection.

"We told the Tanzanian authorities who immediately held the boat at Dar es Salaam," said Assoumani Youssouf Mondoha, a member of parliament and Comoros' sanctions enforcement committee.

He told Reuters a French passenger ship was also travelling between Anjouan and the nearby French-administered island of Mayotte.

"The Maria Galanta is not respecting Comoros' government directions to stop for inspection before heading to (Anjouan's port) Mutsamudu," he said.

Meanwhile, the AU's special envoy to Comoros, Francisco Madeira, arrived in Mayotte with other officials on Tuesday.

"The delegation will discuss with the Mayotte authorities the implementation of controls on air and maritime links to and from Anjouan," the AU said in a statement.

Backed by the international community, national President Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi says he wants to move Comoros away from a history of inter-island bickering and instability that includes 19 coups or coup attempts since independence in 1975. (Writing by Ed Harris; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Mary Gabriel)