Moroni - A "military committee" announced on state radio it had seized power Thursday in Anjouan, one of the Comoro islands in the Indian Ocean, ousting the civilian government led since 1999 by retired Lieut-Col Said Abeid Abderemane.
The confirmation of a coup reported earlier by a leading opposition figure was announced on the radio at 3:50 pm (1250 GMT), according to Anjouan residents contacted from the main Comoro island, Grande Comore.
The coup occurred as many of Anjouan's political leaders were in the state's third island, Moheli, to look at a draft constitution formulated as part of plans to redefine relations between the three islands.