On 20 December 1976, there were a number of serious clashes in Majunga, in the north-west of Madagascar, between Malagasy citizens and immigrants from the Comores who had been resident in Madagascar for many years. As a result of these incidents, the Government of the Comores decided, with the agreement of the Malagasy authorities, to repatriate the Comorian community in Majunga, numbering some 16,000 persons, who, in the interim, had been concentrated in camps provided by the army. The Government of the Comores called for international assistance, including that of the ICRC, to enable it to carry out this task.