21, February 2020

Ireland: Prime Minister Leo Varadkar resigns after inconclusive election result ⁰

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar resigned on Thursday, but stayed on as interim leader while the country’s three main parties battle out coalition talks after an inconclusive election.

Varadkar tendered his resignation as taoiseach, or premier, to President Michael Higgins after the first sitting of Ireland’s lower house of parliament since an 8 February election which radically recast the political landscape.

“In accordance with the constitution, the taoiseach and the government will continue to carry on their duties until successors have been appointed,” a government statement said.

Parties in the 160 seat chamber — the Dail — convened and nominated candidates to lead a new government as taoiseach but with none commanding a majority it was adjourned until 5 March.

Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald received the most votes backing her.

At 45 it was far short of the 80 needed to take office but it was a symbolic victory reflecting the surge the nationalist party enjoyed in the election.

Sinn Fein, which once served as the political wing of paramilitary the Irish Republican Army (IRA), became the second biggest party with 37 seats — breaking the historic duopoly of centre-right parties Fine Gael and Fianna Fail.

“The people who vote for us aren’t going anywhere,” said McDonald.

“We have made a commitment to them to represent them well and to make our very best effort to deliver that government of change — and that is precisely what we intend to do.”

‘A government for change’

McDonald outstripped the 36 votes backing Varadkar to continue as prime minister after his Fine Gael party slipped into third position in the election with 35 seats.

“The onus is on those who have made enormous promises of change to people during this election, who are entrusted with that mandate to bring a programme for government to the Dail for approval,” Varadkar said in parliament before departing to resign.

“If they cannot, they should say so and be upfront and honest about their failure, and the empty promises they made.”

Micheal Martin’s Fianna Fail party won the most seats in the election at 38, but suffered significant losses on their 2016 wins.

He received the backing of 41 lawmakers in Thursday’s contest.

Sinn Fein has been historically associated with the IRA which fought British rule in Northern Ireland for decades until the late 1990s, when a peace agreement largely ended violence that left more than 3,000 dead on all sides.

It won the popular vote with 24.5 percent of first preference ballots and picked up 14 seats by attracting voters with a campaign focusing on Ireland’s housing shortage and health crisis.

But its flagship policy on Irish unity is likely to be a top issue if it gains power.

It wants a referendum on uniting the two parts of the island within five years.

Talks

At least three parties will be needed to form a majority government in the Dail.

But with the three largest refusing to cooperate newly elected speaker Sean O Fearghail said the challenge of government formation remained “substantial”.

Fianna Fail and Fine Gael have both ruled out working with Sinn Fein, in part because of their association to past violence.

Varadkar told state broadcaster RTE on Monday he was prepared to go into opposition.

Meanwhile, Sinn Fein said Wednesday it was “intensifying” negotiations with smaller parties and independents seeking “a government for change”.

Talks may take some time and may result in a new election in which Sinn Fein could emerge as a favourite.

After a 2016 vote it took 70 days for a minority coalition government to form under Fine Gael, which was supported in a confidence and supply agreement by Fianna Fail.

Source: AFP

21, February 2020

Coronavirus: Spread slows in China, but deaths abroad increase ⁰

China on Thursday touted a big drop in new virus infections as proof its epidemic control efforts are working, but the toll grew abroad with deaths in Japan and South Korea.

Fatalities in China hit 2,118 as 114 more people died, but health officials reported the lowest number of new cases in nearly a month, including in hardest-hit Hubei province.

More than 74,000 people have been infected by the new coronavirus in China, and hundreds more in over 25 countries.

The number of deaths outside mainland China climbed to 11.

Japan’s toll rose to three as a man and a woman in their 80s who had been aboard a quarantined cruise ship died, while fears there mounted over other passengers who disembarked the Diamond Princess after testing negative.

South Korea reported its first death, and the number of infections in the country nearly doubled Thursday to 104.

Iran reported two deaths on Wednesday and three new cases Thursday. Deaths have previously been confirmed in France, the Philippines, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Chinese officials say their drastic containment efforts, including quarantining tens of millions of people in Hubei and restricting movements in cities nationwide, have started to pay off.

Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke by phone about the virus with leaders in South Korea and Pakistan, state news agency Xinhua said.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in “chose to call to express sympathies and support” regarding the outbreak, Xinhua said. Xi told him the epidemic’s impact on bilateral ties will only be temporary.

Xi told Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan that their two countries “are true friends and good brothers,” and that combating the virus is his government’s top priority.

At a special meeting on the virus with Southeast Asian countries in Laos, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said results “show that our control efforts are working.”

Although more than 600 new infections were reported Thursday in Hubei’s capital Wuhan, it was the lowest daily tally since late January and well down from the 1,749 new cases the day before.

The national figure has fallen for three straight days.

Chinese authorities placed the city of 11 million under quarantine on January 23 and quickly locked down the rest of the province in the days that followed.

Wuhan authorities this week carried out door-to-door checks on residents, with the local Communist Party chief warning that officials would be “held accountable” if any infections were missed.

Cities far from the epicentre have limited the number of people who can leave their homes for groceries, while rural villages have sealed off access to outsiders.

‘Chaotic’ cruise quarantine

In Japan, critics slammed the government’s quarantine measures imposed on the Diamond Princess.

The huge vessel moored in Yokohama is the biggest coronavirus cluster outside the Chinese epicentre, with 634 cases confirmed among passengers and crew.

Another 13 people on board the ship were diagnosed with the virus Thursday, Japan’s health ministry said.

Still, passengers were disembarking after negative tests and having completed a 14-day quarantine period — packing into yellow buses and leaving for stations and airports.

An infectious diseases specialist at Kobe University slammed the quarantine procedures on board as “completely chaotic” in rare criticism from a Japanese academic.

“The cruise ship was completely inadequate in terms of infection control,” said Kentaro Iwata in videos he has since deleted.

South Korea, meanwhile, announced 51 new cases, with more than 40 in a cluster centred on the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, an entity often seen as a cult.

The infections apparently came from a 61-year-old woman who first developed a fever on February 10 and attended at least four services before being diagnosed.

Authorities were investigating whether she visited a hospital where a long-term patient contracted the virus and later died.

Growing concern abroad

Beyond Asia, citizen backlash was growing over fears of contagion.

Iraq on Thursday clamped down on travel to and from neighboring Iran, with Iraq’s health ministry announcing people in Iran were barred from entering the country “until further notice.”

The move came after Iran confirmed three new coronavirus cases following the deaths of two elderly men.

And in Ukraine, a crowd clashed with police outside a hospital over government plans to quarantine evacuees from coronavirus-hit China at the site.

Six buses with the evacuees arrived at the medical center in Novi Sanzhary, in the central Poltava region, escorted by police.

Angry demonstrators lit fires and pelted the buses with rocks, breaking at least three windows.

Because of the virus outbreak, airlines operating in the Asia-Pacific region stand to lose a combined $27.8 billion of revenue, the International Air Transport Association said.

This is the first time since 2003 that demand for air travel has declined, IATA CEO Alexandre de Juniac said.

Source: AFP

21, February 2020

French Cameroun: Boko Haram Raids Displace Thousands More ⁰

New Boko Haram attacks have displaced more than 3,000 people along Cameroon’s northern border with Nigeria in the past three months. Authorities say the Nigerian Islamist militants torched houses, abducted, raped and looted, creating panic among villagers.

Twenty-seven-year-old Cameroonian Alidda Mannodi is getting help from the Association of Muslim Women in the northern town of Mora, on Nigeria’s border, after escaping from Boko Haram.

Last week, she managed to flee the border village of Touski, where the Islamist militants were holding her captive as a sex slave.

She said at the first opportunity she fled a hut in the bush, where she was repeatedly raped by several men. Mannodi said she told one of the men that she was menstruating, but the man still raped her.

Mannodi said she trekked for three hours before getting help from a Nigerian fuel vendor, who brought her to Mora. She said she was among 12 people Boko Haram abducted from her village – some for a second time.

The Association of Muslim Women is treating her and 16 other women who escaped Boko Haram in recent months.

Cameroon’s military said the Islamist militants have in the past three months stepped up raids on villages along the border.

Midjiyawa Bakari, the governor of Cameroon’s far north region, said the terrorists cross over from Nigeria in groups of 10 to 20, torch houses, abduct civilians, and steal livestock and grain.

He asked villagers to help inform Cameroon security forces of attacks.

“We have to call upon the population to help to bring information, to work hand-in-hand with forces of law and civil authorities and, by that way, it is obvious that the results will be there,” he said.

FILE- Cameroon soldiers stand guard at a lookout post as they take part in operations against the Islamic extremists group Boko Haram near the village of Fotokol, Feb. 25, 2015.

Bakari said the wave of attacks is a consequence of a porous border and the dry season, during which it is easier for militants to move around than it is during the wet season.

He denied the attacks were made worse by the military withdrawing from several border posts to fight rebels in the English-speaking northwest.

United Nations officials, including the U.N. coordinator in Cameroon, Allegra Baiocchi, have been visiting camps to which thousands of people were displaced by the Boko Haram attacks this month.

Baiocchi said they are in urgent need of humanitarian aid.

“We saw over 3,000 people in the area of Mora and Kourghi. So, we talked about the needs of these people, which are humanitarian needs. We talked about how we are trying to help them. But we also talked about the importance of making sure that we help these populations regain their livelihoods,” said Baiocchi.

Neither the United Nations nor the government of Cameroon gave an estimate of the number of people killed or wounded in the attacks.

The local tabloid L’Oeil Du Sahel, which specializes in reporting on Boko Haram, estimates at least 90 people have been killed since mid-November.

Boko Haram terrorists have been fighting for the past 11 years to create an Islamic caliphate in Nigeria’s northeast, but the attacks have spread to neighboring Cameroon, Chad, and Niger.

When the fighting reached Cameroon in 2014, President Paul Biya declared war on the militants.

The Islamist group has killed more than 36,000 people, displaced over 2 million, and left more than 7 million in need of humanitarian aid.

Source: VOA

20, February 2020

South Sudan’s president, opposition leader agree to form unity government ⁰

South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir and ex-vice president and opposition leader Riek Machar agreed Thursday to form a unity government on Saturday, a long-delayed step towards ending six years of war.

“We have agreed to form the government in two days on 22nd February. We are still discussing on other things and I am hopeful we will resolve them all,” Machar said after a meeting between the two men.

Kiir confirmed that they had agreed to join together for the third time in government – an experiment which has twice previously ended in disaster.

It was a dispute between the two men which pushed the young nation into war in December 2013, only two years after a hard-fought independence.

“As the president, I will be appointing the vice presidents, and I will start by appointing Riek tomorrow (Friday) in the morning and I will dissolve the government today and then form a new government on the 22nd,” Kiir said.

“These are changes which will bring peace.”

Unity government delayed twice

The formation of a unity government was a linchpin of a September 2018 peace deal.

But it has been delayed twice by failure to move forward on crucial issues such as forming a unified army, carving out state borders and creating a protection force to ensure Machar’s security.

Kiir said his forces would be in charge of security in Juba, South Sudan’s capital, as well as Machar’s protection.

“I have taken responsibility of protection, as the unified forces are still under training,” he said.

He urged some 190,000 people living under United Nations protection in tent cities in the capital and across the nation – many of whom have lived there for several years – “to come out, because the dawn of peace has come”.

The United States, which has curbed relations with South Sudan over its political impasse, on Thursday welcomed the deal on reaching the unity government.

“We welcome Dr. Machar’s firm commitment to form an inclusive unity government by February 22,” Tibor Nagy, the top US diplomat for Africa, wrote on Twitter.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

20, February 2020

“Cameroon needs a bail-out. Not an economic bail-out. The country is crumbling” Dr Joachim Arrey ⁰

“Cameroon needs a bail-out. Not an economic bail-out. The country is crumbling, the world should stop playing spectator to an insidious genocide that is playing out in the country’s two English-speaking regions,” Dr. Joachim Arrey in an interview with the Cameroon Concord News Group Editor-in-Chief, Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai.

Cameroon Concord News: We are always happy to hear you share your views. We know you have good ideas that could help Cameroon make giant strides forward. What is your view about the killings in Ngarbuh?

Dr Joachim Arrey: Let me use this opportunity to extend my sincere condolences to all those who have lost loved ones in this conflict, especially to relatives of those who were killed in Ngarbuh recently. There is nothing that can shock a society like the killing of children and pregnant women. The world has been moved by this unfortunate situation and something needs to be done to ensure that this government does not continue to kill its own people. I think the country’s military has crossed many red lines and this one should not go unpunished. Somebody must be held accountable and since there is a chain of command, those who issued those orders must be as guilty as those who implemented those orders. It is wrong to kill human beings just for their views. People should be punished for the crimes they commit and not for the opinions they hold. Through this unfortunate event, the military has demonstrated that it has no regard for human life.

Cameroon Concord News: But the government is saying that the military did not commit the crime.

Dr Joachim Arrey: If you speak with investigators, they will tell you that very few criminals ever acknowledge their role in any crime. Many criminals usually refuse to acknowledge that they know something about the crime they have committed. We are talking here about a government that has mowed down many young people in the two English-speaking regions of the country. In that part of the country, very few people have confidence in the government and the military, which is supposed to be protecting the people, has transformed itself into a bogyman. The international community has called for a thorough and impartial investigation into the Ngarbuh massacres, but the government is still dilly dallying because of what it knows. However, I have good news for you. Some smart villagers have picked up the shell casings of the bullets that were used in the mass killings in Ngarbuh and they now say they will only hand them over to the United Nations when and if there will be an investigation. Once those bullets get handed over, there will be ballistics tests and the whole world will know who committed the act. I don’t trust the government. It has been caught with its hand in the cookie jar on many occasions. I hope you have not forgotten about its crime in the northern part of the country that sparked outraged around the world and when questioned, the communications minister at the time said the event took place in Mali. If a man has lied once, know that he can lie many times.

Cameroon Concord News: Besides, the killings in Ngarbuh, there are many things still going on in the two English-speaking regions.

Dr Joachim Arrey: Of course! The army has been given the carte blanche to shoot and kill. Yesterday, a young man was killed at a Bamenda hospital where he had dropped off some wounded persons. Since everybody in the two regions is now scared of soldiers, once you get stopped, you just start fleeing and that was what the young man did. There is a death sentence hanging over all Cameroonians living in the two regions like the Sword of Damocles. A trigger-happy soldier followed the young man to a hospital where Doctors Without Borders has its staff and gunned the young man down. The minister of defense issued a release that the soldier had been caught, but as usual, he span the story to demonstrate that the dead man was at fault because he had run a checkpoint. But the punishment for running a checkpoint is not summary killing. I am not a lawyer, but I am conversant with the country’s penal code. I also understand how the law works in Cameroon. The law has been designed to favor those in power. Those in power are very selective in their application of the law. This is unfortunate because the selective implementation of the law has entrenched a culture of impunity in our country.

Cameroon Concord News: Where do you see the country in the next five years?

Dr Joachim Arrey: Five years just look to me as an eternity. We have gone through a lot and if we must endure more of this over the next five years, then many of us will be dead. Many people of my age and those who are older are aging very fast because of the stress the government is downloading on the population. Corruption and inefficiency have a way robbing people of their dignity. Many people are unemployed, and many major corporations are not really doing well in Cameroon. The country is dealing with many crises and the impact of these crises is hitting the population like a ton of bricks. Cameroon needs a bail-out. Not an economic bail-out. The country is crumbling; the world should stop playing spectator to an insidious genocide that is playing out in the country’s two English-speaking regions. If you throw the economic hardship into the mix, then you get the frustration that is already manifesting itself in different ways. Unemployment, crime, dishonesty, corruption and mismanagement seem to have taken up residence in Cameroon because of a regime that has overstayed its welcome.

Cameroon Concord News: From the way you speak, would you one day like to participate in your country’s politics?

Dr Joachim Arrey: I don’t know what you mean by politics, but we all are political animals in a way. I hate injustice and corruption, but these two vices seem to be fixtures on our political and social landscapes. It will be unfortunate to turn a blind eye to such vices which are blighting the lives of our people. I will never seek political office, but I will work for a just society. I will always take this government to task for the way it has run our economy aground. The government has robbed Cameroonians of their pride. Cameroonians of all political stripes just want to be happy and proud that their country is doing well. Unfortunately, this is not what we are getting. The economy is on the brink and the politics leaves much to be desired. Our country has evolved from a struggling democracy to a full-blown dictatorship. We must change that. We must hold our so-called leaders accountable for their actions. We must continue mounting pressure until they understand that Cameroon belongs to all of us. Cameroon is our common property. We need to ensure that we are bequeathing a beautiful country to our children. We cannot allow a few people who are conducting themselves like robbers in paradise to ruin everything before they check out.

Cameroon Concord News: But you don’t live in Cameroon

Dr Joachim Arrey: I don’t have to live in Cameroon to fight for what is right. The world is a global village and we can live wherever we want, but we must not forget that we must ensure that all parts of that global village are functioning properly. I am a native of Ossing and I believe that it is incumbent upon me to ensure that Cameroon does not disappear just because some people are at the end of their lives. We all must leave this world someday, but we must ensure that we leave this world a better place than we met it. I will therefore continue to play my role to ensure that some people do not consider themselves as owners of our beloved country. I will continue to write and think aloud until somebody listens to me.

Cameroon Concord News: Thank you for your time. Any last word?

Dr Joachim Arrey: Thank you too for seeking my opinion. I would like to use this opportunity to call on the international community to intervene in Cameroon so that the country does not implode. Cameroon is going down the drain and if care is not taken, it could bring down an entire sub-region. The tragedy that is playing out in the two English-speaking regions is already creating problems for the Cameroon’s neighbors as Cameroonians of English expression flee violence to seek peace and security in neighboring countries. These countries do not really have the right infrastructure to handle large hordes of refugees. The refugees are living rough and many are dying because of the tough times. Cameroon should not be forgotten. The issues can be addressed. The people want peace, but their leaders seem to be in love with war, especially as some of them have already established a war economy that is lining their pockets. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to share my thoughts with your audience.

20, February 2020

Commonwealth Secretary-General statement on Ngarbuh Massacre ⁰

The Commonwealth Secretary-General has issued the following statement in response to an attack on a village in north-west Cameroon on 14 February which reportedly left 23 people dead, the majority of them children.

Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland said:

“I strongly condemn the recent killings of civilians, including women and children in the North-West of Cameroon on 14 February 2020.

“We noted the Government announcement that there would be a full investigation into the incident. We encourage the Government to conduct an impartial investigation, for perpetrators to be held accountable and for results to be made public.

“The Commonwealth strongly condemns all forms of violence, and in particular, the loss of lives of innocent civilians including women and children.

“Cameroon is a noted member of the Human Rights Council and as such we are minded of General Comment 13 to the Convention on the Rights of the Child to freedom from all forms of violence which is underscored by the understanding that no violence against children is justifiable, all violence against children is preventable.

“I continue to convey these concerns to the Government of Cameroon, and the Commonwealth stands ready to support solutions that will address the root causes of this conflict.”

Secretary-General The Rt Hon Patricia Scotland QC

20, February 2020

Ngarbuh Massacre: UN calls for respect of international law ⁰

The Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, released his statement on 17 February, saying that he is “deeply concerned over reports about the killing of civilians, including children, in an attack on the village of Ngarbuh”.

A day later, the spokesperson of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights equally decried the killings as “a shocking episode” in what is an “ongoing crisis that has afflicted the country’s North-West and South-West regions for the past three years”.

23 killed, 15 of them children

The “ongoing crisis” referred to is the clashes between security and defence forces and armed separatist groups in these two regions, clashes which have displaced hundreds of thousands of people over the last years.

The UN reported witness accounts saying that 40 armed men opened fire on people and burnt down houses in the village of Ngarbuh on 14 February. Some of the men involved in the killings were members of the security and defence forces. According to Cameroonian authorities, the defence forces and gendarmes responded to fire from inside the village.

UN sources on the ground reported that 23 people were killed, 15 of whom were children and two of whom were pregnant women.

“Respect international human rights law”

The UN Secretary General offered his “deepest condolences” to the families of the victims, and called upon the Government of Cameroon to investigate the attacks and to “make sure those responsible are held accountable”.

After the Cameroon Government announced that they would open an investigation, the Office of the High Commissioner urged the authorities to ensure that it be “independent, impartial and thorough”.

Both the Secretary General and the Human Rights Office called on all armed actors in the conflict to refrain from attacking civilians and to respect international human rights law.

“We urge the Government of Cameroon to take concrete steps” the Human Rights Office said and reiterated their “readiness to help the Government to protect the human rights of people all across Cameroon”.

Pleas of the international community

The UN statements are just the latest of many appeals from the international community, many of them from ecclesiastical communities around the world.

Earlier this week, Catholic Bishops from around the world signed a letter to the President of Cameroon, Paul Biya, asking him to begin peace negotiations with the separatist movement.

The World Council of Churches also condemned the attacks, and encouraged all its member churches to keep those affected in their prayers.

Source: Vatican News

20, February 2020

Chinese Foreign Minister says virus control efforts ‘are working’ ⁰

China’s efforts to control the deadly outbreak of a new coronavirus “are working”, Beijing’s top diplomat said Thursday, attributing an easing in new cases to his country’s “forceful action” against the illness.

Speaking in Laos after talks with peers from the 10 Southeast Asian (ASEAN) countries, Wangi Yi said the outbreak was “controllable and curable” despite the global panic it has seeded.

“China is not only protecting its own people but also the rest of the world,” he told the summit in Vientiane, referencing a recent sharp drop in new cases of the virus inside China, where it has killed more than 2,100 people.

The hastily-convened summit with ASEAN neighbours comes as a region dependent on the flow of Chinese goods and tourists faces a steep bill following restrictions on movement from China.

A similar meeting was held in 2003 following the outbreak of SARS.

Originating in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, the new coronavirus — known as COVID-19 — has infected more than 74,000 people inside China.

The government has locked down tens of millions of people in several virus-hit cities, extended Lunar New Year holidays and pulled flights in a scramble to contain the virus.

Still the health scare has cascaded across Southeast Asia, with cases recorded in the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam have restricted flights from mainland China and suspended visa-free arrivals as health screening ramps up at entry points.

Thailand, which has imposed no such restrictions, reported a 90 percent slump in arrivals from the mainland this month, a gut punch to an already beleaguered tourist sector which makes up nearly a fifth of the economy.

Thailand anticipates a loss of more than $8 billion by year’s end from the tourist tail-off.

In Laos, Beijing will be eager to “project regional solidarity with its anti-pandemic efforts” a Southeast Asian diplomat told AFP, declining to be named.

China sees ASEAN as its backyard and has ramped up economic, diplomatic and cultural influence over recent years with billions of dollars of investment, tourist outflows and a bigger presence at regional summits.

There are fears prolonged disruption by the virus could slow work on the massive China-backed “Belt and Road” infrastructure schemes which criss-cross ASEAN.

Philippine Foreign Minister Teodoro Locsin Jr thanked China for its “unprecedented domestic measures and quick action” — apparently referring to the lockdowns of several large cities as the virus billowed out.

But he recognised the “massively detrimental” economic impact of the disease, which has constricted global trade and tourism vital to many Southeast Asian economies.

Source: AFP

20, February 2020

Germany: Suspected gunman found dead at home after killing spree ⁰

A man suspected of fatally shooting nine people in the southwestern German city of Hanau was found dead at his home hours after the attacks in and outside two shisha bars, police said on Thursday.

Another body was discovered at the home of the man in Hanau, a city east of the German financial hub of Frankfurt, where the shootings happened.

Police gave no details of the suspected gunman but said: “there are currently no indications of further perpetrators.” They did not give details of his possible motive or how he died, or specify why they believe “with a high degree of probability” that he was the assailant.

The number of dead in the shootings Wednesday evening rose to nine, a police statement said.

Officers sealed off and searched the apartment in Hanau’s Kesselstadt district, near the scene of one of the shootings, after following up witness statements on a getaway car. Police said work to confirm the identities of the two bodies at the home was still under way, and they couldn’t immediately give details either on them or the identities of the victims of the earlier shootings.

Earlier Thursday, police said that eight people were killed and around five wounded. They said a dark vehicle was seen leaving the location of the first attack and another shooting was reported at a scene about 2.5 kilometres (or 1.5 miles) away.

‘A terrible evening’

Police officers swarmed central Hanau, cordoning off the area of one of the shootings as a helicopter hovered overhead. A car covered in thermal foil also could be seen, with shattered glass next to it. Forensic experts in white overalls collected evidence.

Shisha bars are places where people gather to smoke flavored tobacco from Middle Eastern water pipes.

“This was a terrible evening that will certainly occupy us for a long, long time and we will remember with sadness,” Hanau Mayor Claus Kaminsky told the Bild newspaper. Lawmaker Katja Leikert, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s centre-right party who represents Hanau in the German parliament, tweeted that it was “a real horror scenario for us all.”

The mass-selling newspaper also reported that the suspect was a German citizen and that ammunition and gun magazines were found in his car. He had a firearms hunting licence, it added.

Hanau is in Hesse state and has about 100,000 inhabitants.

(FRANCE 24 with AP and REUTERS)

19, February 2020

French Cameroun: Far North Region sees upsurge in armed attacks ⁰

There’s an upsurge in armed attacks in Cameroon’s far north region, security officers said. The village of Ouzal is the target of a spate of Boko Haram attacks this week, which left 3 civilians dead.

“Everything was burned, the consulting room, the pharmacy, the head office and the treatment room, excluding the hospital ward”, a nurse at the Ouzal hospital, Amadou Dairou said.

Ousseni Oundi is one of the village elders. He’s concerned about the state of affairs.

“We’re losing lives, losing brothers, we losing mothers, every day we’re in mourning… you see how houses are burned, goats are burned, property and people. We couldn’t figure out the final toll. We built our health centre, we suffered for it, people worked, we struggled”, Oundi said.

Military sources told AFP that four other locations have been hit within the same period. They include Mandoussa, Oudal, Kouva and Hitere in Cameroon’s far north region.

A police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity said three children have been missing since the attack. The attackers also looted shops.

On Tuesday, the United Nations called on the Cameroonian government to undertake an impartial and independent probe into the death of 23 people in the English-speaking region during a military operation.

Source: AFP