Germany rules out financial reparations for Namibia genocide

Berlin wary of setting legal precedent as talks near completion on reconciliation deal for atrocities against Herero and Nama tribes

Germany has categorically ruled out financial reparations forming part of a planned formal apology to Namibia for colonial atrocities at the start of the 20th century, amid fears such payments could set a legal precedent for further claims.

Angela Merkel's government has since 2014 negotiated with Namibia to heal the wounds" of what historians call the first genocide of the 20th century, when between 1904 and 1908 tens of thousands of indigenous people were shot, starved, and tortured to death by German troops as they put down the rebellious Herero and Nama tribes in what is now Namibia.