New Caledonia Gendarme Slain by Rebel Machete
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NOUMEA, New Caledonia — A French gendarme was killed Friday by a machete blow in the back while dismantling a roadblock put up by Melanesian independence activists in northeast New Caledonia, gendarmes reported.
The gendarme, Roland Lecomte, 48, was hit by a machete thrown by a man, believd to be a rebel,who was hiding in long grass on the outskirts of Pouebo, 250 miles from Noumea. He died 20 minutes later.
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