Chagos islanders make historic trip home without British escort – BBC News

Five people from Chagos travelling on a boat chartered by the Mauritian government, have made history as the first people to step foot on their archipelago without a British military escort, or sought British authorisation.

The trip is the culmination of years of tug-of-war legal battles with Britain over ownership of the Chagos Islands.

The United Nations’ highest court has ruled that Britain’s occupation of the islands is illegal, but Britain has refused to hand control to Mauritius.

As the boat landed, Chagossian Suzelle Baptiste said: "It means so much to me."

The BBC’s Africa correspondent Andrew Harding reports from the archipelago.

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