13 die in Witchcraft Soccer riot

Accusations that a soccer player was using witchcraft during a match in eastern Congo set off a riot that killed 13 people, a radio station financed by the United Nations reported Monday. Most of the victims were ages 11 to 16, the station, Radio Okapi, said. They suffocated as panicked crowds ran for the exits on Sunday in Butembo in North Kivu Province. Police officers fired into the air to protect their commander, who was hit in the head and wounded by spectators, the station said. But instead of calming the crowds, the firing exacerbated the panic, the regional governor, Julien Mpaluku, said.