/ 15 August 1999

MASS GRAVES FOUND IN ANGOLA

SOME 100 bodies have been found dumped in four wells in war-torn central Angola, public television reported on Friday. The bodies were found Thursday in wells in the Chipeta region of Bie province, the television station reported, broadcasting pictures of the scene. Angolan authorities blamed the killings on the rebel National Union for the Total Independence of Angola, which controlled the region before being forced out by the army two months ago. Several mass graves have been found in Bie and the neighbouring Huambo province in recent months. The area has been the scene of fighting between the army and UNITA since the Angolan civil war resumed last November following the collapse of 1994 peace accords.