GENEVA (ELCA) -- Three field staff of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) were killed in Rwanda in an armed assault the night of March 11. They died near the border with Tanzania on the compound of a resettlement project for returning Tutsi refugees, LWF reports. A number of other staff members were injured. LWF expressed "sadness and distress" at the deaths.
The three served on the staff of the LWF's Department for World Service. Reports from the World Service office in Kigali indicate the assailants appear to have come from Tanzania, crossing the Akagera River -- a branch of the Kagera River which forms the border between Tanzania and Rwanda.
The names of the dead and injured have not been released. The LWF will recover the bodies from Bukora in the district of Kibungo.
The LWF has been involved in providing humanitarian aid in the region since 1994. The resettlement project at Bukora is funded by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees with the LWF as implementing partner.
For information contact:
Ann Hafften, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
