September will go down in history as a month which saw the most intense and bloody battle yet between the Angolan army and the anti-government Unita rebels.
Although the primary objective of the Angolan government's massive; military offensive is to wipe out Unita's headquarters at Jamba, near the Namibian border, Fapla troops have spent the past 30 days desperately trying to capture the rebel-held town of Mavinga.
Situated in south east Angola, Mavinga is a keypin position for the marxist MPLA government. At least 12 Fapla brigades, assisted by Cuban and Soviet military advisers, have persisted in a two-pronged attack in Mavinga since the beginning of September.
If Fapla troops manage to capture Mavinga, not only will the path be clear for an assault on the Unita capital of Jamba, but the routes used by Unita guerrillas to infiltrate northwards on sabotage mission, will be effectively blocked.
The Angolan army would also be able to establish radar and and-aircraft missile bases, bringing Jamba within range of aerial attack. The loss of Mavinga could mean the collapse of the 12-year-old Unita movement and the demise of president Jose Eduardo dos Santos' archenemy, Dr Jonas Savimbi.
The London office of Angop, Angola's official news agency confirmed this week that "fierce fighting between Fapla and SADF regulars" had been in progress since the beginning of September. Though foreign and local newspapers have reported that South African aircraft and troops have been involved in the battle, an SADF representative refused to comment earlier this week on "unsourced or speculative stones."
Angop, however, claimed an SAAF mirage fighter had been shot down near Cuito Cuanavale, an important FAPLA military centre in the southern Angola. This was denied by the SADF. It is widely believed that SAAF jets are launching incursions into Mavinga from the Caprivi strip.
Early in September, defence Magnus Malan told parliament: "If our interests demand that we take action against communist incursion, then we have no choice".
A Unita spokesman said this week that the movement had "smashed the government offensive" in southern Angola. "We have driven them back across the Lomba river and our forces are now on the offensive," spokesman Alcides Sakala said in Lisbon. – Mark Verbaan
This article originally appeared in the Weekly Mail.
