OWN CORRESPONDENT, Luanda | Sunday 3.40pm.
UNITA rebels have overrun the southern Angolan town of Chiede, according to radio reports.
The reports said Chiede, which lies less than 60km from the border with Namibia, fell on Thursday, allowing Unita to disrupt regional traffic between Angola and its southern neighbor.
Radio Ecclesia said army reinforcements have been sent from Ondjiva to retake the town, adding that the whereabouts of local civil servants was unknown.
In Luanda, army commanders refused to comment on the radio report.
Twenty-four people were reported killed in an attack February 6 on the nearby Angolan border town of Santa Clara, which the government blamed on Unita. Unita rebels led by Jonas Savimbi said in a statement on Saturday that they have killed some 275 government soldiers since February 13 and have destroyed a T-55 tank.
President Jose Eduardo dos Santos said on Thursday that his army controls the entire border with Namibia and that rebels no longer pose a threat to the government. — AFP