Luanda | Monday
AT least 15 people have been killed in two attacks by Unita rebels in different parts of Angola, according to press reports and statements from the army and rebels on Sunday.
At least 14 people were killed and more than 40 youths were abducted during a raid by the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (Unita) on the port of Baia Farta, the Portuguese daily Diario de Noticias reported.
The paper said 150 homes and shops were sacked and 50 head of livestock stolen during the surprise attack by Unita forces on Saturday on Baia Farta, near Benguela, some 450 kilometres south of the capital Luanda.
Baia Farta lies in an area known for fishing and tourism and has been the centre of heavy investment from Portugal.
The headquarters of the African Investment Bank was among buildings looted during the raid, the paper added.
Meanwhile, one civilian died and another was injured in a Unita attack early Saturday on the town of N’Dalatando, 250 kilometres east of Luanda, according to army officials in the capital.
The attack was led by five rebels who fled after soldiers returned fire, the army said.
Unita said in a statement that it had actually taken control of N’Dalatando, provincial seat of Kwanzu-Norte.
The rebel group said it had killed 68 army soldiers and seized ”a large quantity of military goods,” while 12 rebels died and 21 were injured, in a statement signed by rebel leader General Geraldo Abreu ”Kamorteiro.”
The Portuguese news agency Lusa, citing army Colonel Paulo Silva, said Unita had attacked N’Dalatando on Saturday, but that the resulting skirmish with the army that lasted only five minutes, according to the Portuguese news agency Lusa.
One woman died in the attack, as well as unknown numbers of rebels, LUSA said, citing Silva.
Angola gained independence from Portugal in 1975 but the liberation war soon turned into a civil conflict that has raged in the country on and off ever since.
Unita downed a military plane with a Russian crew in an eastern province a week ago, killing some 30 people, according to Moscow. – Sapa
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