To all,
SUF's Angola concession is in Lunde Norte province.
The Monday September 21 10:25 AM EDT
Angola Denies UNITA Claims Of New Offensive
By Buchizya Mseteka
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Angola's former rebel movement UNITA said Monday the government had
launched an offensive against it in the north of the country, but the Luanda government denied the
allegation.
UNITA Secretary-General Paulo Lukamba Gato told Reuters from his bush headquarters in Andulo, in
the central highlands, that fighting began Sunday and was concentrated around Lunda Norte and
Malanje provinces.
''They have launched a massive offensive in the Lunda Norte and Malanje provinces. The air force is
heavily involved and they are using ground troops as well,'' said Gato.
South African radio Monday also reported further clashes near Angola's northern border with the
Democratic Republic of the Congo.
But Angolan defense ministry spokesman Armindo Bravo da Rosa told Reuters in Luanda that there was
no new military action under way against UNITA (the National Union for the Total Independence of
Angola).
''That is not true at all,'' da Rosa said.
''The government is on the defensive throughout the country. There has been no recent escalation of
the situation in the northeast. The situation is being controlled by the national police. The armed forces
are not actively deployed in that area,'' he said.
Gato said the government in Luanda had also refused to give guarantees of safety for a U.N. special
envoy who wanted to meet the UNITA leadership in Andulo.
''This is all part of a government plan to destroy UNITA, to discredit its leadership. The fighting is still
taking place,'' Gato added.
Last week, Gato said the government of President Jose Eduardo dos Santos was seeking to destroy
UNITA and discredit Jonas Savimbi, who has led the movement since it was founded in 1966.
Under a 1994 peace deal UNITA is obliged to disarm, integrate into a national armed force, hand over
territory under its control and join a government of national unity.
But it has failed to honor the terms of the accord and the United Nations Security Council and the United
States have imposed sanctions on the movement.
Early last month dos Santos expelled UNITA from Angola's national unity government and said he would
cut off contacts with Savimbi.
The government has instead recognized a splinter UNITA faction led by former senior Savimbi aide
Jorge Valentim. Regional analysts and UNITA-watchers said Valentim had neither the political clout nor
the backing to wrest power from Savimbi.
Senior UNITA officials including its members of parliament have also distanced themselves from
Valentim's group.
Angola has intervened in the civil war in the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo to help
President Laurent Kabila fight off rebels in the former Zaire, which is also used by UNITA for operations
and supply routes.
Political analysts and observers have said they fear the southern African nation, rich in oil and
diamonds, is slipping back into civil war.
Last week, the United Nations Security Council approved an extension of a U.N. peacekeeping mission in
Angola, giving the Security Council time to decide whether the peace process could be rescued.
Diplomats said the United States was planning to send a high-level official to Angola soon in an effort to
prevent another civil war.
The U.N. operation comprises some 725 military personnel and 388 civilian police observers, down
from a presence of more than 7,000 in the early phase of the peace process.
PHIL |
