Cameroon ’has forcibly returned 100,000 Nigerian refugees’
Cameroon has forcibly returned 100,000 Nigerian refugees in breach of international agreements, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said.
▻http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-41413312
#Cameroun #asile #migrations #réfugiés #renvois #expulsions #refoulement #Nigeria #réfugiés_nigerians
Six Nigerian asylum seekers die as Cameroon forcefully repatriates them
▻https://odili.net/news/source/2018/aug/3/802.html
#décès #mourir_au_cameroun #mort
Cameroon Forces Nigerian Refugees back to Violence
Since November, more than 80,000 Nigerians have been forcibly displaced in the north- east of the country, due to an upsurge in the on- going violent clashes between non-state armed groups and the Nigerian military. The situation for those who were forced to flee into Cameroon is alarming; Cameroonian authorities have denied refuge and forcibly returned civilians back across the border.
An attack on the Nigerian town of Rann on January 14 which was reportedly executed by Boko Haram, forced more than 9000 people to flee into Cameroon. Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said that buildings had been destroyed, looted and burned to the ground; “it was like a graveyard”.
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is extremely alarmed by reports of the forced return of several thousand Nigerian refugees by Cameroonian authorities this week, following the return of 267 on January 16. The Norwegian Refugee Council have called this development “a breach of international and regional agreements” including the Tripartite Agreement signed on March 2017, which guarantees the protection and human rights of forcibly displaced persons.
“This action was totally unexpected and puts lives of thousands of refugees at risk,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi. “I am appealing to Cameroon to continue its open door and hospitable policy and practices and halt immediately any more returns and to ensure full compliance with its refugee protection obligations”.
UNHCR also sounded the alarm on Tuesday regarding the flight of 6000 Nigerians into Chad after an attack on the town of Baga, many of them having to paddle for three hours to reach the lakeside village of Ngouboua. Chadian authorities are carrying out registration and pre-screening of new arrivals, of which 55 per cent are children, to evaluate their needs.
Nigeria has been dominated by violent civil conflict between opposition groups since 2009, which in addition to the 1.8 million people that have become internally displaced within Nigeria, has lead an estimated 200,000 to flee to neighbouring Chad, Cameroon and Niger. Andrew Mews, MSF’s country director in Nigeria, said the attacks gave the lie to suggestions of improved stability in the country’s north-east; “The emergency is not over yet”.
▻https://www.ecre.org/cameroon-forces-nigerian-refugees-back-to-violence
Unearthing the truth: Unlawful killings and mass cover-up in Zaria
▻http://www.amnestyusa.org/research/reports/unearthing-the-truth-unlawful-killings-and-mass-cover-up-in-zaria
Mass slaughter of hundreds of men, women and children by soldiers in Zaria and the attempted cover-up of this crime demonstrates an utter contempt for human life and accountability, said Amnesty International as it publishes evidence gathered on the ground revealing how the Nigerian military burned people alive, razed buildings and dumped victims’ bodies in mass graves.
Nigerian Shiites say soldiers have killed hundreds
▻http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/World/2015/Dec-14/327306-nigerian-shiites-say-soldiers-have-killed-hundreds.ashx
Nigeria’s Muslim Shiite movement says Nigerian troops have killed hundreds of its members in a northern town, but other reports put the number of dead at about 20.
The killings happened this weekend in Zaria, a town in which, according to the military, the Muslim group tried to kill Nigeria’s army chief by stoning his convoy.
The dead from the military raids included the wife and two sons of the Shia Islamic Movement leader, Ibraheem Zakzaky.
Witness Ojo Momodu said the Shiites barricaded a main road with burning tires as Gen. Tukur Buratai approached Saturday and then pelted his convoy with stones.
Army spokesman Col. Sani Usman called it “a deliberate attempt to assassinate” the general.
The movement’s spokesman, Ibrahim Musa, said the military retaliated with “indiscriminate killing.”
Nigerian Army Kills 300 Minority Shia
▻http://www.mintpressnews.com/nigerian-army-kills-300-shias/212079
The annual religious procession of Nigeria’s Shi’ite minority seems to get attacked by the Nigerian military every year. Last year, the attack during the procession killed 30 demonstrators, including three children of the group’s spiritual leader.
This year, Shi’ite protesters held an advanced demonstration before the religious process, slamming military attacks against them and throwing rocks at the convoy of a general involved in last year’s crackdown, a move which the Nigerian military labeled an “assassination attempt.” They claimed the Shi’ites were armed with “swords and daggers.”
So once again, the military moved against the Shi’ites in force this weekend, killing around 300 according to the Shi’ite movement. The exact toll could not be determined, however, as the Nigerian military took all the bodies with them when they left.
Muslim Public Affairs Centre Condemns The Gruesome Killing Of Nigerian Shia Muslims - AhlulBayt News Agency - ABNA - Shia News
▻http://www.abna.ir/english/service/africa/archive/2014/07/28/627340/story.html
The Muslim Public Affairs Centre (MPAC) condemned the Nigerian military’s deadly use of force against pro-Palestinian protesters as they staged a march in Zaria, Kaduna State, one of the states in the Northern Nigeria where they held their annual Al-Quds Day celebration. While the street marched went without incidents in others states, 30 members of the Shiite sect were reportedly killed in Kaduna State, including 3 children of Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky, the leader of the Islamic sect. Many more have been injured.
MPAC views the gruesome killing of these young men and women and the unwarranted use of extreme force against peaceful protesters as a clear abuse of power and violation of the fundamental rights of the sect members. There is no justification for this type of violence under any circumstance and it is the responsibility of the state to protect all of its citizens, regardless of religious affiliation and support.
The plight of the Palestinian people is one of the most enduring human rights struggles in modern times. For more than seven decades, Palestinians have endured continuous suffering at the hands of Israel, with the full backing and supports of the United States of America which has acted immorally to strengthen the brutality of the Israeli government, and its racist policies.
The Nigerian people should be allowed to exercise free speech and protest in the name of the democracy we made significant sacrifices to enthrone, and they should be able to do this without suffering from a culture of violence that seems to be pervasive in the military profession in the country. As in similar cases, MPAC calls on the military to immediately halt attacks against law-abiding citizens and work with all parties to ensure a constructive way forward that will achieve the envisioned peace in our collective fight against terrorism.
A failure of the Nigerian armed forces to abide by its own rules of engagement, the religious profiling and arrest of Muslims and the constant harassment of Muslims being reported across the country only further undermines the Nigerian government’s claims that genuine war is being waged in the pursuit of peace, freedom and democracy for all people. In the current climate of our national and private security concerns, the Nigerian armed forces need to self-reflect on how they view human rights of citizens and how they train our armed personnel to view Nigerians, their lives and rights.
Massacres au Nigeria : Body Count Soars as Nigerian Military Hunts Islamists - NYTimes.com
▻http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/08/world/africa/body-count-soars-as-nigerian-military-hunts-islamists.html?nl=todaysheadlin
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria — A fresh load of battered corpses arrived, 29 of them in a routine delivery by the Nigerian military to the hospital morgue here.
Unexpectedly, three bodies started moving.
“They were not properly shot,” recalled a security official here. “I had to call the J.T.F.” — the military’s joint task force — “and they gunned them down.”
Shell oil paid Nigerian military to put down protests, court documents show | World news | The Guardian
►http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/03/shell-oil-paid-nigerian-military
Court documents now reveal that in the 1990s Shell routinely worked with Nigeria’s military and mobile police to suppress resistance to its oil activities, often from activists in Ogoniland, in the delta region.
Confidential memos, faxes, witness statements and other documents, released in 2009, show the company regularly paid the military to stop the peaceful protest movement against the pollution, even helping to plan raids on villages suspected of opposing the company.