Update: Anjouan Rebel Leader Has Fled To French Island For Asylum

Mutsamudu, Comoros (AHN) - A top Comoran military official revealed on Wednesday that rebel Anjouan leader Col. Mohammed Bacar has fled to the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte following an invasion by government troops. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to the Agence France-Presse, said Bacar escaped on an amphibious assault on the island, fleeing on a speedboat along with 11 other rebels.

"Colonel Mohammed Bacar arrived in Mayotte on Wednesday at 3:00 pm local time (12GMT) on board a speedboat. There were about a dozen men with him, some of them armed," the official explained.

The Comoran government got the word from the officials of France's ministry for overseas territories, who confirmed that the former naval and police officer has requested asylum in Mayotte, located just 37 miles from Anjouan.

"Mr Bacar is in a secure area, along with the men who accompanied him. All of them have asked for political asylum in France, after happened on Anjouan," the official explained, according to AFP.

The Times Online reported on Tuesday that the 45-year-old former Anjouan president was last seen dressed as a woman as he escaped the wooded, hilly island during the morning of the invasion.