Angola’s army on Monday began choosing 5 000 former Unita rebels to join the ranks of the military under a peace pact bringing an end to almost three decades of civil war.
The selection process will be followed on Friday by official ceremonies where troops of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (Unita), including about a dozen officers, will be enlisted, mainly into the army but also the police.
Since an April 4 ceasefire between the government and Unita, almost all former rebel fighters ? 80 474 men according to an official count — have been grouped in camps across the southern African country.
They are to be demobilised from July 20 and many will be given professional training to help them back into civilian life.
The ceasefire brought an end to a war which has ravaged Angola almost incessantly since independence from Portugal in 1975.
Since the pact was signed, the government has set up a National Reconstruction Office to take charge of most of the former rebels, who will be given jobs helping to rebuild the country’s infrastructure.
The total demobilisation and disarmament of Unita, with the integration of rebels into the armed forces, was provided for in the Lusaka peace protocol of November 20, 1994. This accord was one of several bids to end the conflict, but fighting broke out again.
The ceasefire in April was signed after talks between top military staff on either side and came weeks after Angolan troops in February killed veteran Unita leader Jonas Savimbi. – Sapa-AFP