TUESDAY, 7.30PM:
ARMED bandits in Angola are forcing people to become refugees within their own country, with almost 40000 having fled to towns, largely from the south-western province of Benguela, according to the United Nations mission in the country.
It is likely that most such bandits are demobilised or recalcitrant members of Unita, the long-time rebel movement which recently became a political party, having completed most of the demobilisation and demilitarisation requirements of peace accords signed in Zambia in 1994. The peace process has taken a long time to unfold, with Unita frequently reluctant to meet its obligations and the government’s patience maintained only by its dread of further civil war.
Certainly the government blames the violence on Unita groups who have yet to demobilise. There has been speculation recently about divisions within Unita, with hardliners refusing to disarm and hanging on to towns that should have been handed over to government. Meanwhile, other Unita members are joining the party’s new headquarters in Luanda, and some have already joined the government armed forces.
Some residents of towns in the affected areas believe that renegade security force members are also to blame for the violence, which last week claimed the life of a UN interpreter in an ambush.
Those bandits that are Unita hold-outs are probably encouraged by the resistance of Unita leader Jonas Savimbi to change. Despite having been given unusual recognition by the government as the formal leader of the opposition, he still refuses to return to Luanda, citing fears for his life, despite a government concession that would allow him to maintain a 400-strong personal bodyguard of his choice.
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