FRIDAY, 3.00PM
UNITED Nationa officials on Friday said Unita forces had attacked and occupied Angola’s north-east frontier post in Lunda Norte province, in contravention of the 1997 Lusaka ceasefire accord.
Members of the United Nations Observer Mission (Monua) who travelled to the area said in a statement they found the post had been occupied by Unita forces, and the population had fled. Monua force commander Zimbabwean Phillip Sibanda told the joint commission it was clear an attack had taken place.
“The team of military observers travelled to the neighbouring villages of Muquenda, Calibuitchi, Camueca and Mbanji, all of which had recently been abandoned,” the statement said. “Burned huts were visible in Mbanji. General Sibanda concluded that these locations had been subject to raids and harassment.”
The joint commission asked Unita to launch an investigation and punish perpetrators of the acts and “redress the regrettable consequences of the acts themselves”.
“The joint commission condemns Unita for acts — whose veracity has not been contested — which are against the relevant provisions of the Lusaka Protocol … of June 30, 1997,” said the statement.
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