/ 16 October 2000

ITALIAN NUN KILLED IN BURUNDI

AN Italian nun has been shot dead in Burundi, Catholic missionary news agency Misna reported. Sister Gina Simionato, 55, was hit by gunfire as she returned with other sisters from mass in the town of Gihiza, about 90 km east of the capital Bujumbura. At least one colleague was injured. It was not immediately clear whether the nuns had been targeted or if they had accidentally strayed into an area of conflict. Fighting between the Burundian army, led by the country’s Tutsi minority, and Hutu rebels has intensified in and around the capital in recent weeks. – Reuters