Brazzaville - President Denis
Sassou-Nguesso of the Republic of Congo has demanded that so-called Ninja
militias release a French priest they kidnapped in April, state television
reported. In brief remarks late on Wednesday after a summit meeting with
President Omar Bongo of Gabon and President Jose Eduardo dos Santos of
Angola, Sassou-Nguesso described the abduction of the Catholic priest,
Jean Guth, as an act of terrorism.
According to local newspapers, Guth, head of the Mayama parish some
80km west of the capital Brazzaville, was seized in April during a visit
to Kindamba in the troubled Pool district.
The Pool area southwest of Brazzaville has seen clashes between Ninja
rebels and government forces of the Congo Republic, neighbour of the much
larger Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to the east, since
Sassou-Nguesso won a civil war in 1997.
Although the Catholic Church said it has had no news of the priest,
according to witnesses, his captors had allegedly "cut a tendon" and then
helped heal the wound.
In a final statement after their meeting, the three presidents said
they had discussed security issues and condemned "terrorism". - Sapa-AFP
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