OWN CORRESPONDENT, Luanda | Tuesday 7.30pm.
ANGOLAN troops have been sent to the small mining town of Kamatuka in Lunda Norte after 30 people were maasacred there on Sunday. Angolan government radio said rebel forces loyal to Unita leader Jonas Savimbi were responsible for the killings.
Early in July, 215 people were reported massacred in the mining region of Bula, which lies in territory which Unita long refused to hand over to government adminstration in line with 1994 peace accords. The United Nations mission in Angola, which sent an enquiry team, found nearly 100 bodies in eight mass graves. The Bula killing was also blamed on Unita, which denied it.
Savimbi’s movement split early this month, with a breakaway faction created by several of the long-standing guerrilla chief’s former senior aides and receiving the support of the Luanda government.
This new Unita wing accuses Savimbi of being determined to press on with war at all costs. Unita’s failure to disarm in line with the 1994 protocols signed in Lusaka has brought international sanctions against it, as well as domestic measures such as exclusion from parliament.