MONDAY, 9AM:
The Angolan government has appealed to the South African government to clamp down on what it believes to be illegal arms traffic via Lanseria airport, near Johannesburg, to the rebel group Unita.
In the aftermath of United Nations sanctions imposed on Unita last week, Zambia has also come under pressure to cut off a suspected arms supply route to Unita. The Angolan and Zambian governments have organised a joint military commission to investigate the issue.
Angolan deputy defence minister Georges Chicoti says he believes the arms travelling via Lanseria come from private individuals, including rogue military officers. He alleges Togo and Morocco are also sending arms to Unita, but that Angola and Namibia conduct joint border patrols to halt the smuggling of arms to Unita across their common border.
Meanwhile, Unita leader Jonas Savimbi has agreed to announce on Monday whether he will stay in the peace process now that sanctions have been imposed.
MONDAY, 8.00AM:
UNITA has refused to hand over two towns over the weekend, as agreed under the 1994 peace accord. Local Unita commanders in Damba and Quibocolo, both Unita strongholds, said they would not hand the towns over until meetings had been held to discuss the party’s response to sanctions.