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Subject: AROUND THE WORLD=Liberians Lament Slayings of 5 American Nuns<
Date: Mon, 2 Nov 92 04:35:15 EST
Message-ID: <18.1992Nov2.043515@AmeriCast.com>

AROUND THE WORLD=Liberians Lament Slayings of 5 American Nuns<

MONROVIA, Liberia - The archbishop of Monrovia led hundreds of
people yesterday in praying for five slain American nuns whose
bodies lay unrecovered in a battle zone four miles from the
center of this besieged capital.

Rebels loyal to Charles Taylor have been battling for control for
nearly three years, overrunning all but Monrovia. A seven-nation
West African force sent to halt the war is defending the city.

Archbishop Michael Francis blamed rebels for killing the nuns,
saying: "They call themselves freedom fighters, but they kill in-
nocent people. . . . We pray for those liars." He did not specif-
ically identify Taylor's fighters, although he previously said
Taylor's men control the area where the nuns died.

The Roman Catholic prelate spoke to hundreds of people gathered
in Sacred Heart Cathedral to mourn the nuns, who were slain after
leaving their convent to try to rescue a wounded child Oct. 20.
Nearly two weeks later, it was still too dangerous to recover the
bodies.

At the Vatican, Pope John Paul II said he hoped the deaths might
inspire "all who can influence the fact of that martyred country"
to stop the fighting.<

Unrest in Russia<MOSCOW - Russia flew thousands of special forces
to the Caucasus mountain city of Vladikavkaz over the weekend to
quell an ethnic clash between Ossetians and minority Ingushis.

Local reports spoke of dozens killed and many more injured in
street fighting between the two groups that broke out Friday and
raged through the weekend.

President Boris Yeltsin, determined to demonstrate Moscow's au-
thority, summoned his Security Council Saturday and dispatched
some 3,000 Spetsnaz and police troops to support the government
of the North Ossetian autonomous republic.<

Dissident Returns<TAIPEI, Taiwan - A Taiwanese dissident leader,
hailed as the godfather of the island's independence movement,
returned from 22 years in exile to a tumultuous welcome from
thousands of supporters.

"I have finally returned home after all these years," an emotion-
al Peng Ming-min, 69, told a crowd at Taipei airport. Peng, who
has lived in the United States since 1970, said he returned to
Taiwan to help monitor a parliamentary election.

Peng was convicted of sedition in 1964 and sentenced to eight
years in prison for advocating political reforms and demanding an
end to the Nationalist government's claim to be the ruler of the
Chinese mainland. He was released from prison in 1965 and placed
under house arrest. He fled to Sweden in 1970 before settling in
the United States.< Swedes Petition Saddam<BAGHDAD, Iraq - Three
Swedes jailed in Baghdad have sent a petition to President Saddam
Hussein after the supreme court rejected their appeal against
their sentences, a Swedish diplomat said.

"Our petition for clemency has been handed over to the Foreign
Ministry. We have reasons to believe that it will be considered
in a positive manner," Swedish Counsellor Goran Wallin said.
Stefan Wihlborg, Leif Westberg and Christer Stromgren were jailed
for seven years in September for illegally entering Iraq from
Kuwait, where they were working.

Wallin said the three entered Iraqi territory by mistake for a
distance of about 600 feet. He said the court ruled to uphold the
convictions Oct. 28 but that he was informed only this week-
end.<<02:17 11-02C9999-----

Copyright 1992, The Washington Post.  This story is from the
Washington Post's Capitol Edition On-Line and is not to be ar-
chived or redistributed.

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