6, January 2019
The Holy Father urges EU leaders to help migrants stranded in Mediterranean 0
Pope Francis on Sunday urged EU leaders to show “concrete solidarity” with 49 migrants stranded on NGO ships off the coast of Malta who have been refused permission to land. “Forty nine migrants rescued in the Mediterranean by two NGO ships have been on board for several days now, waiting to be able to disembark,” Francis told thousands of people gathered in Saint Peter’s square in Rome.
“I address a pressing appeal to European leaders that they show some concrete solidarity with respect to these people,” he added.
Amid growing concern over the plight of the migrants, some of whom have been at sea for more than two weeks, the European Commission earlier this week called on EU member states to admit them.
The Netherlands and Germany have offered to take some but only if their EU partners do the same, highlighting again the European Union’s long-running deadlock over sharing responsibility for migrants.
There are 17 people on board the German NGO Sea-Eye vessel, with another 32 on the Sea-Watch. Among them are a one-year-old baby and two children aged six and seven. Both Italy and Malta have refused port access and on Sunday they reiterated that position.
“In Italy, there are no more arrivals. That is the line and it will not change,” hardline Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini told the Il Messaggero newspaper. “Italian ports are closed and will remain so,” he added in a tweet.
(AFP)
25, January 2019
Catholics save lives in Cameroon as fighting intensifies 0
An ambulance dispatched by a Catholic Church-run hospital in Cameroon continued saving lives this month amid fresh outbreaks of violence between the military and armed groups.
Elengu Noella, 27, told voanews.com that the vehicle whisked her and four other women to safety during a firefight between security personnel and separatists but two of her three children were killed in the heavy fighting near the town of Buea.
Cameroon said this week it is mobilizing troops along its northern border with Nigeria as Boko Haram and its splinter group, the Islamic State in West Africa, step up their attacks.
In January alone, the military has recorded five incursions by insurgents near the border and in the Lake Chad basin, with three people killed last week, the media reports.
Meanwhile, Cameroon, which is also fighting separatists in its English-speaking western regions, is believed to have sent thousands of refugees back to Nigeria.
Filippo Grande, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, has repeatedly urged the Cameroon government in the capital Yaounde to “refrain from further forced returns and to ensure protection to those fleeing insecurity and persecution in Nigeria.”
The situation worsened in Nigeria in 2018, capped by a brutal massacre in November when a Boko Haram strike on a military base killed up to 100 soldiers.
Now Cameroon seems bent on sealing off the border as the terrorist group continues to recruit fighters from within its territory.
Defense Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Rene Claude Meka has vowed to fight fire with fire, saying this year will see Cameroon fight for national unity and territorial integrity.
“2019 will not be a bed of roses,” Defense Minister Joseph Beti Assomo said on Jan. 21.
“We shall continue with various operations in the far north, northwest and southwest regions, and reactivate special operations in the Adamawa region where criminal groups specialized in kidnapping are wreaking havoc.”
Source: La Croix International