A team of international experts has concluded that the former president of Chile, Salvador Allende, killed himself during the 1973 military coup¹ led by General Augusto Pinochet.

一组国际专家得出结论，智利前总统萨尔多瓦·阿连德在1973年的军事政变中自杀身亡，此次争辩由奥古斯都·皮诺切特将军领导。

Salvador Allende's economic reforms angered the right in Chile
A detailed² report was released two months after Mr Allende's body was exhumed³（掘出，恢复） as part of an inquiry⁴ into his death.

Mr Allende's family has always accepted the official version.

But some of his supporters suspected he had been killed by soldiers.

Allende, who was 65, died in La Moneda presidential palace on 11 September 1973 as it was being bombed by air force jets and attacked by tanks.

The official version was that he shot himself - with a rifle given to him by his friend, the then Cuban leader Fidel Castro - as troops stormed the palace.

Mr Allende's family agreed to have his body exhumed from a cemetery⁵（墓地） in the capital, Santiago, so that an international team of experts, including specialists in ballistics（弹道学） , could determine the cause of death.

One wound, two shots

The official report handed in to the Chilean government concludes that Mr Allende was killed by two bullets shot from a rifle held between his legs.

British ballistics expert David Prayer took part in the investigation⁶ and said the result was clear.

"The gun, an AKA rifle, was on automatic," he said.

"There was one wound in his skull⁷, caused by two bullets. There is no evidence that a third person was involved," said Mr Prayer.

Senator Isabel Allende, a daughter of the late president, said the family had received the news with great peace.

"The report conclusions are consistent with what we already believed. When faced with extreme circumstances, he made the decision of taking his own life, instead of being humiliated⁸（屈辱） ," Ms Allende said.