ZIMBABWE’S President Robert Mugabe has called on southern African states to support the Angolan government in its war against UNITA rebels. Speaking at the official opening of a new session of parliament, Mugabe said the Angolan conflict was a “threat to the Southern African Development Community’s development and prosperity.” Mugabe, who heads the 14-nation SADC’s defence and security committee, blamed National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) leader Jonas Savimbi for restarting the long-running conflict after the collapse of a peace agreement. Although Mugabe did not specifically call for SADC to send troops to the southwest African state, his cabinet ministers have in the past suggested that South Africa should do so in its role as a regional power.