Search on for 18 missing western Caprivi youth

Namibia's Kavango Regional Council, human rights activists and the office of the ombudsman have been asked by Barakwena (San) leaders in the western Caprivi to find out what happened to 18 young men who were arrested during security sweeps in the area on 16 August, 'The Namibian' said on Tuesday.

'The Namibian' reported that villagers told aid workers, the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC) and other non-governmental fieldworkers that only one of the 18 men was older than 20. They were rounded up in Bagani, Chetto and Omega by Namibian soldiers, according to the villagers, whose concerns started mounting after a soldier interrogating two men arrested last month in connection with a landmine blast at Omega threatened to take them to Angola and "kill you like we did with the other 18 people".

The Namibian Defence Force (NDF) has denied involvement in the arrests, saying their police counterparts could have been responsible. Defence spokesperson Emily Kazapua was quoted as saying: "We didn't pick up these people. As I stated, the NDF does not detain people. You need to raise the matter with NamPol. If we picked up people, that was in joint operations with the police". Tousy Namiseb, director for investigations in the office of the ombudsman, said the ombudsman would visit west Caprivi on Thursday and Friday.