Cleric killed in Congo
2005-11-18 18:51
Kinshasa - Militia fighters have killed a clergyman working as a peace mediator in southeastern Congo.
On Friday, United Nations spokesperson Kemal Saiki said that Congolese troops had found two charred corpses in mineral-rich Katanga Province on Thursday.
One of the corpses was Francois Kikuji, a preacher-turned-mediator missing since August, when he went to negotiate a dispute among Mayi-Mayi militiamen.
The other corpse belonged to one of Kikuji's followers. Both were killed by Mayi-Mayi fighters, UN-run Radio Okapi reported.
The Mayi-Mayi militia holds sway across large swaths of the region despite a government drive to oust them and regain control of the region ahead of next year's elections, meant to put Congo on the path to democracy and peace after its 1998-2003 war.
- SAPA