ROME (Reuters) – At least one person was killed and an Italian nun was shot and seriously injured after armed men attacked a Christian mission in Burundi in central Africa, Italy’s foreign ministry said on Monday.

The attackers stormed the residence of the “Handmaids of Charity” in Ngozi in northern Burundi on Sunday. An Italian helper at the mission, which works with the local hospital, was taken hostage and then killed, the ministry said in a statement.

“The Italian nun is receiving the necessary treatment in the Kiremba hospital and her condition gives no cause for alarm”, the statement said.

Media said a Croatian nun was also killed in the attack.

Coffee-producing Burundi has enjoyed relative peace since Hutu rebel group, Forces for National Liberation, laid down its weapons and joined the government in 2009 after almost two decades of war.

But attacks on civilians and soldiers have intensified since elections last year were widely boycotted by the opposition.

Reuters

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