Page 12 - ARUBA TODAY

A12 WORLD NEWS
Friday 21 July 2017
Cameroon torturing suspects in Boko Haram fight: New report

By CARLEY PETESCH come routine and is prac- including Cameroon. and Central Africa, Ste- on Cameroon’s govern-
Associated Press ticed with impunity, and The extremists have killed phen Cockburn, told The ment to end incommuni-
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — it violates both national more than 1,500 civilians in Associated Press. cado detention and inves-
More than 100 people and international law, the Cameroon’s Far North re- However, “in this type of tigate all allegations of tor-
have been tortured by group said. In the majority gion since 2014, according combat you need trust ture and other cruel treat-
Cameroon security forces of cases, people were held to Amnesty International. in the population to get ment.
and held incommunicado on little or no evidence. Cameroon, Chad and Ni- the type of intelligence Cameroon’s government
in the past four years on People are usually caught ger all contribute to a mul- and information that you has not responded to the
suspicion of involvement up in sweeping arrests af- tinational force to combat need. And if you are seen new report.
with the Nigeria-based Is- ter a large attack by Boko the insurgency. as a force that preys on “What they are doing in
lamic extremist group Boko Haram, whose eight-year “We have always said se- the population rather than Cameroon is way beyond
Haram, according to a re- insurgency has killed more curity forces are pursuing protects it, that’s not go- the law.
port released Thursday by than 20,000 people and the right cause,” Amnesty ing to help your campaign It should be subjected to
Amnesty International. displaced millions in Nigeria International’s deputy re- against Boko Haram.” criminal investigation,”
Such treatment has be- and neighboring countries, gional director for West The rights group has called Cockburn said.q
Warnings as deadly Central African Republic violence returns

More than 300 people mand ransom,” said Zarah
have been killed and Mahamat.
100,000 displaced since She said she tried to go
May as violence that be- to the market one day to
gan in 2013 moves into the buy vegetables for her chil-
impoverished country’s dren, who no longer have
central and southeastern even rice to eat, and was
regions, prompting warn- stopped.
ings of a national conflict “I had to contact my par-
roaring back to life. ents in Bangui and they
In Bangassou alone, more sent me the money to pay
than 150 people have died the ransom,” she said, still
in fighting between militias wearing the same clothes
and U.N. peacekeeping she had when she fled in
forces. May.
“We were driven out by Another resident, Jean-
force. We have lost our par- Claude Gbienza, blamed
ents, our homes and all of the U.N. peacekeeping
our belongings,” said Dja- mission for provoking some
mal Haddine Mahamat- of the violence. He said the
Salle, secretary-general of forces arrived in May and
the organization represent- started shooting, causing
ing the town’s displaced the local defense groups
U.N. humanitarian chief Stephen O’Brien answers reporters’ questions during an organized trip to Muslims. “It’s been two and that are also part of the
Bangassou, Central African Republic. O’Brien insisted that the U.N. is there to help, and he warned a half months since we’ve anti-Balaka to retaliate by
of the growing violence. been here, blocked with- burning homes and fight-
(AP Photo/Hyppolite Marboua) out the ability to even go ing.
beyond 100 meters.” Yvette Siolo said her hand
By HIPPOLYTE MARBOUA Central African Republic’s bloodshed until May, now Many said their departure was pierced by a bullet
Associated Press southeastern town of Ban- has more than 2,000 Muslim from the cathedral could when the U.N. forces came
BANGASSOU, Central Af- gassou, where almost ev- residents forced to take ref- mean death. in shooting. She said the
rican Republic (AP) — Bul- eryone who enters is seen uge at the local cathedral “The anti-Balaka are every- rest of her family has fled to
let-riddled roofs line the as an enemy. after attacks by the mostly where. And as soon as you neighboring Congo, on the
“boulevard of death” in The city, spared sectarian Christian anti-Balaka militia. risk leaving, they will de- other side of the river. q

At least 8 killed in blast at mosque in northeastern Nigeria

By HARUNA UMAR 13 people were wounded. escaped and began to was attacked, Bello said. gency has killed more than
Associated Press The mosque collapsed in run as our operatives there Boko Haram has increas- 20,000 people, abducted
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — the blast. Police did not began to chase after her,” ingly used girls and young thousands of others and
At least eight people were immediately comment on said spokesman Danbatta women to carry out at- spilled over into neighbor-
killed earlier this week when Monday’s attack. The Ni- Bello with the Civilian-JTF tacks. Some young women ing countries.
a female suicide bomber geria-based Boko Haram self-defense force. who escaped the extremist Northeastern Nigeria is part
detonated at a mosque in extremist group often tar- “She rushed to the mosque group have said girls are of what the United Nations
northeastern Nigeria. gets Maiduguri, where its and detonated the second drugged and forced to has called the world’s larg-
A spokesman for a civilian eight-year insurgency be- bomb.” The first girl blew up carry out suicide missions. est humanitarian crisis in
self-defense force in Mai- gan. “There were two girls where she was trapped, Nigeria’s government late more than 70 years, with
duguri city said the bomber that wanted to attack the Bello said. last year declared that the World Food Program
was being chased by local mosque but one of them Two other female suicide Boko Haram had been estimating that more than
security workers and ran got stuck in barbed wire bombers were shot and “crushed” but deadly at- 4.5 million people in the
into the middle of worship- in the ditch dug near the killed in Maiduguri around tacks continue. The Islamic region need emergency
pers and exploded. At least area, but the second one the same time the mosque extremist group’s insur- food assistance.q