Killings of albinos, whom many central Africans believe to have magical powers, have increased during 2008 to support a growing trade in albino body parts. Three men with machetes attacked the boy in Cankuzo Province, said Kassim Kazungu, head of Burundi’s Albinos Association. The killing has been confirmed by a prosecutor in the neighboring province. Mr. Kazungu said six albinos had been killed in Burundi since September 2008, while a seventh is missing. Smugglers in Burundi are believed to take albinos’ organs and limbs to Tanzania, where witch doctors use them for charms. In Tanzania, at least 35 albinos, mostly women and children, were killed in 2008, according to the Tanzania Albino Society.
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