Paris | Wednesday
THREE top members of Angola’s armed opposition, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (Unita), including its secretary general Paulo Lukamba, have been taken prisoner by the army, Unita representative Georges Sandengue said in Paris on Wednesday.
The two other officials were the movement’s secretary for external relations Alcides Sakala and Marcial Ndachala, who was in charge of information, Sandengue said.
“They called us on Tuesday to try to persuade us to accept a ceasefire offered by Luanda, but they were obviously prisoners of the army – even if they couldn’t say it openly,” he said.
Sandengue said the officials had left him a telephone number to call back on, but he found out it belonged to the commander of the Angolan army at the town of Lwena in the eastern province of Moxico.
The capture of the three officials is another blow to the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (Unita) after the deaths last month of its commander Jonas Savimbi and his deputy Antonio Dembo.
“We know that they were first brought to Luanda before Lwena. We think it is a big set-up by the government after their so-called ceasefire of March 15, filmed on national television,” he said.
The Luanda government announced on March 15 that the army and the rebels had agreed to halt fighting in the 27-year civil war, but Sandengue said the deal was “not credible” because the generals who signed the deal for Unita were prisoners.
He said the Angolan army had probably captured the three officials when they carried out the ambush on Savimbi which resulted in his death on February 22. -AFP
AFRICA*NEWS:
Bloody Unita attack leaves ‘truce’ in tatters March 19, 2002
Angola peace talks a sham, say Unita March 18, 2002
Angola offers olive branch to Unita March 15, 2002
Bring me the head of Antonio Dembo March 5, 2002
Unita gets back to the business of killing February 27, 2002
Savimbi’s dead: long live peace in Angola February 24, 2002
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