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Rebels kidnap Catholic bishop

    NAIROBI

    Hutu rebels in Burundi kidnapped a Roman Catholic bishop and killed his two military escorts on Saturday as they returned by car to the eastern town of Ruyigi, news organisations reported.

    MISNA, the Missionary Service News Agency, reported on Monday that the rebels had ordered Bishop Evariste Nduhirubusa of Ruyigi and his driver out of their car, and shot dead his two security guards "on the spot".

    AFP and Reuters quoted the administrator of Maramvya Commune, Elie Niyonzima, as saying that the incident had taken place in the Kibira forest, "a rebel sanctuary in the centre of the country".
    Soldiers from a nearby army post had arrived moments after the gunshots, but too late to prevent the kidnapping, Niyonzima told Reuters.

    The agency reported that two Hutu anti-government groups, the Forces pour la defence de la democratie and the Forces nationales pour la liberation, were operating in the area. They have been fighting to overthrow the government since 1993, and continued to do so even after the inauguration of the power-sharing government of Hutus and Tutsis on 1 November 2001. The dissidents have dashed hopes for immediate peace in the country, by refusing to recognise the new authorities.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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