Germany officially recognises colonial-era Namibia genocide

Germany has officially acknowledged that it committed genocide during its colonial-era occupation of Namibia and has agreed to pay financial support. 

German colonisers killed tens of thousands of Herero and Nama people there in early 20th century massacres.

Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Friday acknowledged the killings as genocide. 

“In light of Germany’s historical and moral responsibility, we will ask Namibia and the descendants of the victims for forgiveness,” he said. 

Mr Maas added that Germany would, in a “gesture to recognise the immense suffering inflicted on the victims”, support the country’s development through a programme worth more than 1.1 billion euros (£940m; $1.34bn).

The agreement will reportedly see funding paid over 30 years through spending on infrastructure, healthcare and training programmes benefiting the impacted communities.

But some traditional leaders have so far refused to endorse the deal, the state-owned New Era news_copypaper reported.

The UN defines genocide as a number of acts, including killing, committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.