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**UK Court Blocks Transfer of Chagos Islands to Mauritius, Dashes Hopes of Chagossian Return**

**LONDON (AP) —** A British court has blocked the U.K. government’s planned transfer of sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. The announcement came on Thursday and hours before the agreement was due to be signed. The move has been met with despair by Chagossians, the native inhabitants of the islands, who were forcibly displaced over half a century ago to make way for a U.S. military base.

The court’s decision effectively halts any immediate prospect of Chagossians returning to their homeland. Bernadette Dugasse, 68, a Chagossian living in the U.K., expressed her outrage, stating, “We are the natives. We belong there… It made me feel enraged because I want to go home.” Dugasse was a toddler when her family was expelled, and she only recently had the opportunity to visit as a grandmother.

For decades, Chagossians have fought for the right to return to the Chagos Islands. The U.K.’s decision to transfer sovereignty to Mauritius, while framed by political leaders as a matter of international security and geopolitics, has been interpreted by the Chagossian community as a major setback. The islands were separated from Mauritius in 1965, prior to Mauritian independence, and the U.K. has maintained control since.

The court’s decision has sparked protests in London, as demonstrators voice their support for the Chagossians’ right to return. The future of the Chagos Islands and its native people remains uncertain.

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