/ 4 June 1999

ANGOLAN ARMY RECAPTURES CUIMA

THE Angolan army has recaptured from rebels the small town of Cuima in the central Huambo province, officials said on Thursday. An army spokesman said 10 Unita rebels were killed in last week’s battle about 80km south of Huambo. The army also announced it has destroyed a Unita base in Caala, southwest of the provincial capital, and that it had captured Tchidinji, 100km west of Huambo. The fighting in Tchidinji forced around 100 families to abandon their villages and to gather in nearby areas, according to the government-run Jornal de Angola. The army said it took four rebels prisoner and seized several mortars and 15 automatic rifles during the Huambo province operations.