A small group of Chagossians has landed on Peros Banhos to begin permanent resettlement, more than five decades after their forced removal by British authorities.

A group of Chagos islanders has made a historic return to their homeland, landing on the Peros Banhos Islands more than 50 years after the population was forcibly removed from the British colony.

The four-member landing party arrived on Île du Coin at 08:52 local time on Monday, openly defying a British government exclusion zone. The group was led by Misley Mandarin, First Minister of the Chagossian Government in Exile, alongside Michel Mandarin, Antoine Lemettre, and Guy Castel.

Standing on the shoreline of the Indian Ocean, Mandarin declared the return the beginning of a wider resettlement effort, saying hundreds more Chagossians would soon follow. He stressed the urgency of the mission, noting that 322 people born on the islands are still alive. “Time is critical for us,” he said, adding that many wish to return before they die.

Among those who landed was Michel Mandarin, 72, who was just 14 when British colonial authorities uprooted Chagossian families in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He recalled being put on boats and abandoned in Mauritius, where his family slept on neighbours’ floors after arriving with nothing. He urged fellow Chagossians to return home and “live the way we used to live before the exile”.

Another member of the group, Antoine Lemettre, 67, described the hardship faced after displacement, saying he was forced to scavenge for rotten vegetables to feed his family upon arrival in Mauritius. “It was not only me,” he said. “Everyone from the Chagos Islands was suffering the same pain.”

Mandarin said the return was also a political statement aimed at blocking Britain’s plan to hand the territory to Mauritius. He criticised UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, saying any attempt to remove the islanders again would contradict Britain’s claims to uphold human rights. “We are British Chagossians. We are from this island. And we are here to stay,” he said.

He further argued that Mauritius’ alignment with China could threaten the strategic operations of the United States military base on Diego Garcia, adding that Chagossians support the continued presence of the base. “We are in our homeland. We are not visitors. We belong here,” he said.

The group was accompanied by Adam Holloway, a former British Member of Parliament, who helped raise funds for the settlement and planned the return. Holloway, a former Army officer and journalist, remains on the island to assist with building the new community.

Describing the proposed handover of the islands as “insanity”, Holloway said Britain should prioritise its own defence rather than paying billions to Mauritius. He expressed hope that the Chagossians’ return would force the UK government to rethink its position, stressing the strategic importance of Diego Garcia to Western security.

Mandarin, who grew up in Mauritius, later joined the British Army and worked in the UK as a Transport for London instructor. He was elected First Minister in December following an independent poll among Chagossians.