Comoran and African Union troops invaded the island of Anjouan on Tuesday to put an end to the rebellion led by Colonel Mohamed Bacar against the federal government of the archipelago.

Agence France-Presse reported from the island's capital, Mutsamudu, that witnesses said Tanzanian troops who were part of the AU force had entered the town on Tuesday morning. Residents greeted the AU with jubilation, AFP said.

The BBC reported the federal government's chief of defence staff, Mohamed Dosara, as saying 450 Comoran troops had landed on Anjouan at dawn. They were backed by about 1,500 AU troops. The Associated Press reported pre-dawn explosions and gunfire, and quoted Dosara as reporting that the invading force had faced some resistance.

The seaborne assault was launched from ships which sailed from the Comoran island of Moheli on Monday. Citizens were warned of the pending arrival of troops in leaflets dropped over Anjouan by helicopter.

By late morning, there was no word of Bacar's whereabouts. Dosara said he was still being sought.

Bacar is a former president of Anjouan who last June defied a federal decree postponing elections. The federal government delayed the elections because of security concerns, but Bacar went ahead with the poll and was declared victorious by a local electoral panel. The Comoros' Constitutional Court rejected the validity of the election and the AU followed suit.