Chris Gordon
Luanda’s frantic daytime commercial activity belies tension in the peace process, but at night the city falls quiet, reflecting the fears that the low-level war will increase when the United Nations completes its pull- out at the end of June.
The new impasse comes as Unita refused to hand over their political and military capitals – the “sensitive zones” of Bailondo and Andulo by May 31.
The UN mediation mission has described the situation as a crisis, which may lead to further action against Unita.
Unita has been accused by the UN of attacking civilians and UN installations in the past two months. These attacks have been verified by the UN in many cases and at least one aid worker was killed in May.
Unita denies responsibility and says it is a victim of UN bias. It says Bailondo and Andulo now house refugees from government aggression and there should be no timetable involved in the handover.
The UN has also criticised the police for “grave excesses” in extending state administration.
However, if either side now refuses to comply, UN special representative Blondin Beye may resign, and the peace process may come to an abrupt end.