/ 4 November 2000

UNITA SAYS IT SHOT DOWN PLANE

ANGOLA’S rebel movement Unita this week claimed to have shot down an Antonov-26 that crashed in northeastern Angola, killing all 48 people on board, the Portuguese news agency Lusa reported. The aircraft “was hit by anti-aviation artillery of the (rebel) FALA (army)” of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (Unita) on Tuesday, LUSA quoted Unita as saying. The Soviet-built plane, which had a Ukrainian crew of six, crashed in a diamond-rich area controlled by the rebel movement. – AFP

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