THE army on the break-away island of Anjouan has deposed Colonel Said Abeid, who this year entered into a reconciliation agreement with the federal authorities in Comoros, diplomatic sources in the Comoros capital of Moroni said on Thursday. Sources said soldiers had encircled the presidency and arrested Abeid. “The situation in Anjouan is however reported to be calm and people are going about their business as usual,” a diplomatic source said. Reports from Anjouan indicate that a military junta led by Commandant Halidi, the commander of the Gendarmerie, is now running the affairs of the island. In August 1997, the Comoros was plunged into a political crisis when Anjouan broke away demanding independence from its sister islands of the Grande Comore. Abeid seized power in 1999, two years after Anjouan unilaterally broke away from the Comoros federation, and until this year resisted attempts to find a diplomatic solution backed by OAU sanctions. – IRIN