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| El Salvador president to testify over kidnapped envoy | El Salvador president to testify over kidnapped envoy |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The highest court in El Salvador has ordered President Salvador Sánchez Cerén to testify in the case of a South African ambassador to the country who was kidnapped and later killed. | |
| Archibald Gardner Dunn was seized by armed men outside the embassy on 28 November 1979. | |
| Almost a year later, the left-wing rebel group Popular Liberation Forces said it had killed the diplomat. | Almost a year later, the left-wing rebel group Popular Liberation Forces said it had killed the diplomat. |
| President Sánchez Cerén was the group's second in command at the time. | President Sánchez Cerén was the group's second in command at the time. |
| In presidential elections held in March 2014, he became the first former rebel to lead El Salvador. | In presidential elections held in March 2014, he became the first former rebel to lead El Salvador. |
| President Sánchez Cerén has not yet commented on the court's ruling ordering him to give evidence over Dunn's disappearance. | President Sánchez Cerén has not yet commented on the court's ruling ordering him to give evidence over Dunn's disappearance. |
| No trace | No trace |
| The lawsuit has been brought by Dunn's relatives, who are trying to find out what happened to the ambassador. | The lawsuit has been brought by Dunn's relatives, who are trying to find out what happened to the ambassador. |
| His family say that despite the payment of a $2m (£1.5m) ransom and the intervention of Archbishop Óscar Romero, the rebels did not reveal the whereabouts of Dunn. | His family say that despite the payment of a $2m (£1.5m) ransom and the intervention of Archbishop Óscar Romero, the rebels did not reveal the whereabouts of Dunn. |
| On 8 October 1980, the rebel group instead circulated a statement saying they had killed the diplomat for "noncompliance with our demands". His body has never been found. | On 8 October 1980, the rebel group instead circulated a statement saying they had killed the diplomat for "noncompliance with our demands". His body has never been found. |
| The kidnapping of Dunn, who was 60 at the time, happened at a time of political violence and upheaval in the Central American country following a military coup by reformist officers which ousted Gen Carlos Romero on 15 October 1979. | The kidnapping of Dunn, who was 60 at the time, happened at a time of political violence and upheaval in the Central American country following a military coup by reformist officers which ousted Gen Carlos Romero on 15 October 1979. |
| A 12-year-long civil war followed, pitting left-wing rebel coalition Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMNL) against the US-backed Salvadorean army and right-wing death squads. | A 12-year-long civil war followed, pitting left-wing rebel coalition Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMNL) against the US-backed Salvadorean army and right-wing death squads. |
| About 75,000 people were killed and 8,000 went missing before a UN-sponsored peace accord was signed in 1991. | About 75,000 people were killed and 8,000 went missing before a UN-sponsored peace accord was signed in 1991. |