The Comoros government captured the capital of the rebel-held island of Anjouan on March 25, just hours after an African Union-backed military operation got under way to oust a renegade colonel who took power in May. Explosions and gunfire started ringing out before dawn as hundreds of troops moved in as part of a long-threatened invasion. There was no immediate word on casualties. “We have now taken the Anjouan capital,” Defense Chief of Staff Mohamed Dosara said by telephone from the main island of Grand Comore. “We have met a small amount of resistance.” Anjouan island’s seaport was under the control of AU troops, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene. (AP, Reuters)