Three Italian nuns killed in Burundi

Three missionary nuns have been found killed in their convent in Burundi, Italian officials said.

The foreign ministry confirmed the killings in Kamenge, near Bujumbura, Burundi’s capital. The ministry declined to give details, including exactly when the killings occurred.

The Italian missionary news agency Misna quoted the Saverian missionaries’ superior in the east African nation, the Rev Mario Pulcini, as saying the bodies of two nuns were found on Sunday afternoon by a third nun.

He told Misna that during the night, other nuns telephoned to say they feared the attacker was still in the convent. When help arrived, the nun who had found the first two victims was herself found killed, Pulcini said.

The nuns’ home diocese of Parma, Italy, said robbery appeared to be the motive.