Caribbean News Desk for Tues Jan 13, 2015… Stories include: Another terrorist group on Caricom Summit’s agenda

Last Updated on Tuesday, 13 January 2015, 21:05 by GxMedia

The Bahamas plans to put the issue of the terrorist attacks in Nigeria by the group, Boko Haram, on the agenda of the next summit of Caribbean Community (Caricom) leaders.

“The Bahamas intends to place this issue on the next CARICOM meeting agenda as a show of solidarity among countries that respect peace and the dignity of human life,” said Prime Minister, Perry Christie who is currently Chairman of the 15-nation grouping.

Caricom leaders are due to meet in The Bahamas next month for their annual mid-term summit.

The Islamist militant group slaughtered hundreds of persons around Baga, a town in Borno Stat, earlier this month.
The Bahamas Prime Minister says his country expresses its profound sorrow and regret to the government of Nigeria over the loss of life in the wake of the recent attack by that terrorist group.

Mr Christie says The Bahamas’ mission in Havana has been directed to communicate the country’s message of regret to the Nigerian Ambassador there.

Caricom has already agreed to discuss the issue of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, particularly against the back-drop of the fact that a number of Caribbean nationals- mainly from Trinidad and Tobago- have gone to Syria to fight for ISIS.

Meanwhile, the Spanish News Agency (Agencia Efe) reported that at least 143 members of the Nigerian Boko Haram Islamist terrorist group have been killed in clashes with the Cameroonian security forces.

Cameroonian Communications Minister Issa Bakary says that in an attack preceeding the fighting, Boko Haram militants assaulted the headquarters of Cameroon’s Rapid Intervention Battalion in the northwest of the country near the Nigerian border in a bid to take over the base on Monday.

Bakary told state television that one Cameroonian soldier died and four others were wounded in the five hours of fighting which ended when the Boko Haram group fled towards the Nigerian-Cameroonian border.

The attack came a week after Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau threatened in a video on the internet to launch attacks against Cameroon.

The radical group is fighting to establish an Islamic state in Nigeria and has killed 12,000 people over the last five years.

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IN THIS PROGRAMME, YOU CAN LISTEN TO REPORTS ON THE FOLLOWING

The Universities of Guyana and West Indies are still working on a new agreement to manage the Law Degree programme being offered in Guyana

The Bahamas to put another terrorist group on Caricom’s agenda

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