Namibia’s President Hage Geingob has turned down an offer €10 million reparations made by Germany for mass killings in its then colony.

“The current offer for reparations made by the German government remains an outstanding issue and is not acceptable to the Namibian government,” Geingob said in a statement after a briefing on the status of negotiations.

He added that the government’s special envoy, Zed Ngavirue, would continue to negotiate for a “revised offer.”

German troops killed tens of thousands of Herero and Nama people between 1904 to 1908 in response to an anti-colonial uprising.

The two countries began negotiating an agreement in 2015 that would see Germany give an official apology and development aid as compensation for the killing of tens of thousands of indigenous Herero and Nama people by German occupiers in 1904-1908.

In June, President Geingob suggested that Germany would offer an unreserved apology. However, Berlin is yet to do so, despite acknowledging that its colonial authorities perpetrated the atrocities.

Germany has repeatedly refused to pay direct reparations, instead pointing to the millions of euros it has given to Namibia in development aid so far.

In June, Germany agreed to apologise in principle but is yet to formally do so.

The Namibian president’s statement appears to indicate that wording has been a sticking point.

“While the Namibian Government agreed to negotiate the issue of redress (reparations), which the German Government consistently referred to as ‘healing the wounds’, Germany has declined to accept the term ‘reparations'” it said.