FACTBOX - Key facts about Comoros

Tue Mar 25, 2008 3:04pm GMT
 
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(Reuters) - Comoros said it had regained control of the rebel island of Anjouan on Tuesday after a seaborne assault backed by the African Union.

Here are some facts about Comoros.

OFFICIAL NAME: Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoros.

GEOGRAPHY: Area: 2,230 sq km. The Comoros cover three small volcanic islands, Grande Comore, Anjouan and Moheli, in the Mozambique channel, 300 km (190 miles) northwest of Madagascar and a similar distance east of the African mainland. They declared independence from France in 1975. A fourth island, Mayotte, remains a French territory.

ETHNICITY: The original Malay-Polynesian inhabitants were absorbed by waves of Bantu and Arab migrations. Today, Arab and Bantu groups predominate, with Indian and Malagasy minorities.

CAPITAL: Moroni on Grande Comore island.

LANGUAGE: French and Arabic are both official languages; Comoran, a Swahili dialect, and Malagasy are also spoken.

RELIGION: Overwhelming majority Sunni Muslim. Catholic minority.

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