US nun gunned down in Amazon, buried yesterday

Thousands of people turned up for the funeral yesterday of an American religious sister who was shot to death in the Amazon rain forest, reported the Associated Press.

Sr. Dorothy Stang, 73, was originally from Dayton, Ohio. She had been working with the poor in Anapu, a town of 7,000 on the Amazon's southern edge, and to protect the rain forest.

She was working at a settlement 30 miles from Anapu on Saturday when two gunmen approached her. The AP reported that a witness said she pulled out a Bible and began to read. The gunmen listened for a moment, took a few steps back and then shot her six times.

Police are looking for four suspects: two hired gunmen, an intermediary and a man they say ordered the murder.

The report said Sr. Stang had received death threats previously but she received little concern or protection from the government.

Following her death, the Brazilian government announced a crackdown on illegal logging. Cabinet ministers reportedly compared Sr. Stang to Chico Mendes, the popular environmentalist and defender of the rain forest, who was assassinated in 1988.

The government has now committed 2,000 soldiers to the region. The first troops were expected to arrive yesterday.

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