Africa News Summary : News Headlines : Discussion Forums

KIGALI - A grenade attack during an outdoor Catholic mass on Sunday in the eastern Congolese town of Goma killed a small girl and a priest and wounded 15 people, a spokesman for the rebel authority that runs the town said.

"An individual who has not yet been identified threw a grenade into the crowd at a communion service," Jean-Pierre Lola-Kisanga told Reuters in Kigali by phone.

He said the attack happened around 11:30 a.m. (0930 GMT). Two priests were among the wounded, one of whom died in hospital later from his injuries.

Four people who had been among the congregation were taken for questioning, Lola-Kisanga said. It was not clear why the attack was carried out. The mass continued afterwards.

Goma, which borders Rwanda and was devastated by a volcanic eruption in January, is under the control of rebels of the Rwandan-backed Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD-Goma) who have been fighting the Kinshasa government since 1998.

The war in the Democratic Republic of Congo has killed around two million people and involves several foreign armies and rival rebel groups. Peace talks in progress in South Africa have been hampered by ceasefire violations.

The Congolese government quit the talks after RCD-Goma seized the eastern town of Moliro last week.

Negotiations resumed on Thursday after both the government and the rebels agreed to withdraw from positions captured in the past month. Nampa-Reuters

•  Big Brother Africa 3: Who's your winner?
•  Big Brother Africa 3: Hazel's got Africa cooking!