EU to probe rights abuses

The European Union is to investigate reports of torture, disappearances and executions that allegedly took place last year in Cameroon, the EU parliament reported on Thursday. It said an EU team would also examine the role a special crime fighting unit - the Operational Command - had in the abuses. The team would meet representatives of the government and offer technical aid to bring the accused to trial, it said. The EU’s decision to probe Cameroon followed an outcry by local and international human rights NGOs sparked by the disappearance of nine boys on 28 January, five days after they were arrested in Douala by the Operational Command.