Swiss police on Monday arrested a 27-year-old Nigerian in connection with the murder of a volunteer at the center run by Catholic relief charity Caritas.

According to Swiss authorities, the suspect presented an identification document showing he was an asylum seeker.

The Nigerian man is suspected of stabbing the 22-year-old woman on a street in the western town of Ahaus on Saturday morning.

She had been stabbed in her upper body and throat, and died in a hospital as a result of her wounds.

"Extensive investigations resulted in the suspicion of the asylum seeker from Nigeria," chief prosecutor Martin Botzenhardt told public broadcaster WDR. "Evidence so far suggests that the 27-year-old made several attempts to establish contact with the victim in recent weeks."

German prosecutors said they will pursue an extradition request of the detainee after he was arrested on a European warrant.

"Naturally this is a major turning point for our work," said Hans-Peter Merzbach, who heads the Caritas mission in Ahaus.

Merzbach noted that the mission would be offering psychological counseling to the victim's colleagues due to the nature of the case.

"We must find out what kind of help the volunteers need," he added.

A memorial service for the young woman is scheduled for Friday at St. Mary's Ascension Church in Ahaus.

Refugees' lives in the balance Dire consequences "I met this girl from Dara’a, Syria, in the intensive care unit of an MSF-run hospital in Al Ramtha, Jordan. A barrel bomb pulverized her house and deprived her of a big part of her family in an instant. With a body full of shrapnel and a serious head injury, the only option for her mother was to try to cross the border to Jordan since there are no more neurosurgeons left in her home country."

Refugees' lives in the balance Maximizing the terror "To survive the food shortage in Syria, many grow their own vegetables. This farmer was hit by a secondary barrel bomb after answering a call for help of a farmer hit by a missile just moments before on the adjacent plot of land. He says this tactic is used by the Assad regime to maximize the number of victims and to demoralize people by being forced to passively watch the suffering of others."

Refugees' lives in the balance Desert storms "The Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan, with population of 80 000, is gradually turning into a city, albeit an imperfect one. Water, electricity, and sanitation services are hard to come by since the Jordanian government does not wish for the settlement to become permanent. The weather makes the lives of Syrians challenging to say the least."

Refugees' lives in the balance Window to a better world? "Valerio and Kevin both inherited their parents’ statelessness due to bureaucracy and requirements that refugees are simply unable to meet. They live with their family in a gypsy camp on the outskirts of Rome in a small mobile home. Even a simple act such as walking his children to school can spell prison and possible deportation for Ramadan, their father."

Refugees' lives in the balance Traumatic experiences "She variously stared out of the window and at her toys for the better part of my stay in her hospital room in Al Ramtha, Jordan. I was told her head injuries were severe and there was little hope she would be self-sufficient in adult life. The doctors said that she was most likely replaying the traumatic experience from Syria that had led to her injury over and over in her head."

Refugees' lives in the balance The children of Darfur "The consequences of the Darfur war, which broke out in 2003, are still visible in neighboring countries. These children attend a Jesuit Refugee Service-funded school in the deep desert of eastern Chad. They were born here and spent their whole lives in a country that is both resource-constrained and reluctant to integrate these children into society."

Refugees' lives in the balance Lost generation "The time refugees spend in camps is 17 years on average, according to the UNHCR. That means most of their childhood. Many children in eastern Chad need to start thinking about getting food from as young as the age of six. Food and water insecurity in refugee camps all over the world are currently creating whole generations of people with only basic formation and skills."

Refugees' lives in the balance The reasons for war "Shayma has three children and worries that her family’s life will never return to normal. She used to be a housewife and helped her husband on their plot of farmland. She says she doesn't understand why people started fighting - they had enough food and water and were able to go to school before the war. Now they live in a caravan and have to live off a nutritionally insufficient diet." Author: Jan Tomes



ls/rt (KNA, AFP)