To pursue somebody is to go after them in order to "capture them", for whatever reason (however, pursuing and capturing are different actions with different meanings, though they often are used together). This is similar in meaning to following, which is to go after someone/something.
However, there was trouble in French Somaliland (Djibouti), which became independent in 1977. There also were complications and delays in the New Hebrides Vanuatu, which was the last to gain independence in 1980
