African Union troops arrived on the Comoros island of Moheli Thursday to join Comoran forces ahead of a planned assault to retake the rebel-held island of Anjouan.
AU troops arrived by boat Thursday from the main island of Grande Comore. The soldiers are from Tanzania and Sudan.
The joint AU-Comoros military operation is aimed at toppling Anjouan's self-declared leader, Mohamed Bacar.
The government of Comoros has said there is no option but to force Bacar from power after he refused demands from the AU and the government to relinquish power.
Soldiers from Comoros have already staged incursions and clashed with rebels on Anjouan.
Bacar seized control of the island last year and declared himself the winner of an election the Comoros central government said was illegal.
The Comoros islands sit off Africa's east coast. The country has a history of instability, enduring about 20 coups or coup attempts since becoming independent from France in 1975.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP.
