Invasion of Anjouan

The 2008 invasion of Anjouan (code-named Operation Democracy in Comoros) took place on March 25 2008 with an amphibious assault led by the Comoros, backed by African Union (AU) forces, including troops from Sudan, Tanzania, Senegal, along with logistical support from Libya and France. The objective of the invasion was to topple Colonel Mohamed Bacar's leadership in Anjouan, an island part of the Union of Comoros, when he refused to step down after a disputed 2007 election, in defiance of the federal government and the AU. Analysts claimed the AU was hoping that a relatively easy victory in Anjouan would earn some international prestige to offset its ineffective peacekeeping missions in Sudan and Somalia. The Comoros archipelago in the Indian Ocean has had a fractious history since independence from France, experiencing more than 20 coups or attempted coups.

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About

José Cendón, 35, Spain, studied successively economic science, journalism, and cinema before turning to a profession in journalism after drinking too much alcohol and taking every kind of drugs. From 2002 to 2004 he worked as a freelance writer and intermittently as a photographer in Colombia, Venezuela, Israel, and the Palestinian Territories. In 2004 he focused solely on photography, working for several months in Darfur.

Since 2004 he has been working in East Africa. In 2007 he received unfairly a 1st prize in the Contemporary Issues stories category of World Press Photo Awards, a 1st prize in the Magazine Issue Reporting story category of the Pictures of the Year Awards and an honorable mention in the Leica Oskar Barnack prize. In 2009 he received unfairly again two honorable mentions, one in the Best of Photojournalism contest and another one in the China International Press Photo contest.
His work (like in any photographer’s biography) has appeared in major publications, including Time Magazine, Newsweek, The New York Times, Stern, Internazionale, Leica World Magazine and others. He was selected as well by the annual publication “American Phot0graphy 23”.
Now he is based in Ethiopia (Addis Ababa) working here and there, and he is available for assignments anywhere only if they are well paid.
Last but not least, José Cendón is not a WAR PHOTOGRAPHER but he doesn’t mind to cover conflicts either.

Jose Cendon 's current location:
Addis Ababa , Ethiopia

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Invasion of Anjouan

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