OWN CORRESPONDENT, Windhoek | Sunday 4.00pm
NAMIBIA said on Sunday that acts of banditry of the kind that killed three French children in the far northeast of the country reflect mounting Unita desperation in the face of a successful Angolan government offensive.
Windhoek has given permission for Angola’s troops to launch attacks from Namibian soil, is aimed at crushing Unita bases in southern Angola and end a decades-old civil war.
“Unita’s logistics system has been severely disrupted, and elements of Unita have found themselves in direct need for survival. And this is the reason for their repeated banditry raids into Namibia in search of food and other means of survival,” a government statement said.
Namibia has repeatedly blamed Unita for the ambush of three vehicles, carrying aid workers and a touring French family, south of the Angolan border last Monday.
The French children — aged 10, 15 and 18 — were shot dead, while their parents, Claude and Brigitte Bidoin, were seriously wounded in the gunfire. Two aid workers in accompanying vehicles were shot in the legs.
The bodies are due to arrive back in France on Sunday. Unita has denied involvement in the attack, which a survivor said was carried out by about 10 men in combat gear who were “really aiming to kill.”
“We wish to make it clear that Namibia has no troops in Angola,” the statement released in Windhoek said. “However, it must be pointed out that Namibia reserves the right to pursue these bandits and eliminate them.” — AFP