Comoros

Union of the Comoros

This island nation off the eastern coast of Africa is officially known as the Union of the Comoros (Union des Comores). The islands were first colonized by Arab merchants and slave traders, who introduced Islam and Arabic culture to the wide mixture of indigenous African societies then inhabiting the islands. By 1506 the Portuguese began to vie for control of the islands, which was successful in part. Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, the Comoros were the target of numerous raids by pirates and raiders from Malagasy, who eventually achieved control over much of the region. In 1841, however France signed a treaty with the Malagasy monarch which established the islands as part of the French colonial empire. In July of 1975 the Comorian parliament passed a unilateral resolution declaring independence of the Comorian State.

The next thirty years were a period of political turmoil, with the islands experiencing more than 20 coups d'etat or attempted coups. They began with an armed coup led by mercenary Robert Denard in August 1975 which removed president Ahmed Abdallah from office and replaced him with United National Front of the Comoros (UNF) member Prince Said Mohammed Jaffar. A few months later, Jaffar was ousted in favor of the Minister of Defence Ali Soilih. In May 1978, Denard returned with another band of mercenaries to lead a second coup and reinstate Abdallah as president. An authoritarian with a belief in the strict adherence to Islamic law, Abdallah renamed the country the Federal Islamic Republic of Comoros, and in 1989 ordered the Presidential Guard (under Denard) to disarm the armed forces. Shortly thereafter he was assassinated by a member of the military.

Following Abdallah's death, Said Mohamed Djohar (Ali Solih's brother) became president, serving until September 1995, when Bob Denard returned again to attempt another coup. He was forced to surrender after the intervention of French military personnel.

The islands of Anjouan and Mohéli declared their independence from the Comoros in 1997 which sparked confrontations between federal troops and rebels. The insurrection was quelled, but in 1999 Army Chief of Staff Colonel Azali Assoumani siezed power from an interim president, although he was unable to reestablish control over the entire country. The official name was changed to the Union of the Comoros, and Azali stepped down in 2002 to run in the democratic election of the President of the Comoros, which he won. He was succeeded in 2006 by Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi, a Sunni Muslim cleric.

Beginning in 1975, a small armed forces was created for the newly independent nation, the Force armée comorienne (FAC), which consisted only of the Ground Force and the Coast Guard, plus a separate Gendarmerie and Presidential Guard (Garde présidentielle). In 1990 it became the Force Comorienne de Défense (FCD), although the essential structure remainded the same. However, in 1996 a merger took place and the armed services, including the Defense Forces, Gendarmerie Nationale, Presidential Guard, Military Health Services, Armed Forces Schools, and the Coast Guard, were combined under the name Armée Nationale de Développement (AND) or Army of National Development.

Camouflage Patterns of Comoros

• Photographs of Ali Soilih M'Tsashiwa, third president of the Comoros, show him inspecting military personnel wearing what are probably French-made tenue de leópard or "lizard" pattern camouflage uniforms, alongside troops wearing solid olive green. As Soilih only served for three years as president, we can assume use of the lizard pattern dates back at least this far.

• During the 1990s, some members of the Presidential Guard and Army wore a copy of the French lizard pattern made in China. These uniforms were also worn by the mercenary forces during the attempted coup d'etat in 1995.

• A more accurate copy of French tenue de leópard lizard was introduced to the AND in the early 2000s and appears to have continued to circulate for at least ten years.

• Probably around the same time, the The Groupes d'Intervention de la Police Nationale (GIPN) or National Police Intervention Group adopted a blue/purple dominant variation of DPM for use by its personnel. Use of this design does not appear to have crossed over to the regular Gendarmerie itself.

• Also in the early to mid 2000s, members of the armed forces began wearing copies of the French tenue de leópard lizard camouflage design, with a similar color palette to that worn by the Moroccan Armed Forces. Use of this design has continued among some personnel into the present time period.

• Copies of woodland camouflage have been worn sporadically by the AND since at least 2011.

• The AND began wearing a copy of the French CE Woodland pattern around 2010. Although intially worn by all ranks as general issue, in the modern era this pattern appears to be favored primarily by officers and can still be found interspersed with other camouflage designs in all branches of the armed forces.

• Certain personnel of the AND have appeared in public formations wearing a copy of the US six color "chocolate chip" pattern.

• In 2013, Comoros sent a contingent to participate in the Eastern Africa Standby Force. Members of this contingent were outfitted in Moroccan "desert lizard" camouflage pattern for the duration of that deployment.

• Since at least 2015, personnel of the Army and Coast Guard have been issued a kind of woodland-leaf hybrid pattern featuring a bright color palette and some shapes unique to the design, seen here.

• Dating to at least late 2018 (but presumably adopted earlier), elements of the Gendarmerie Nationale have been issued an operational uniform with a blue-dominant color palette, also incorporating drawings with elements of both woodland and leaf patterns. The design appears to be a variation of the green/woodland design worn by conventional forces.

• A somewhat different jungle camouflage pattern is seen here, adopted by members of the AND but also seen on some personnel identified as Gendarmerie Nationale. This design incorporates small black shapes printed over larger swatches of medium brown and grass green, with a pale green background. The shapes of the design do not appear to resemble any other well-known camouflage patterns. This camo has been in use with the Comores forces since at least 2019.

• The Groupes d'Intervention de la Police Nationale (GIPN) or National Police Intervention Group has been observed wearing a unique arid camouflage design since at least 2021.

• Limited use of a desert MARPAT clone, similar to that previously worn by the UAE and modern Iraqi forces, has been observed among some personnel of the Gendarmerie Nationale, presumably with a specialized role.