Angola has reinforced troops along its border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), fearing possible unrest in the area after the winners of landmark elections are announced, a top army official said on Wednesday.
”We do not know what could happen in the DRC after the results are announced. Our country has taken steps to ensure the security of our borders,” General Geraldo Sachipendo Nunda said on radio.
Nunda, the deputy to Angola joint chiefs of staff, said the measures had been planned well ahead of the July 30 elections, the Central African country’s first multiparty ballots in 46 years.
”We hope for stability, but in case there are problems, we will defend our country,” he said.
Angola intervened militarily in the DRC’s latest war (1998 to 2003), backing the Kinshasa regime against rebels supported by Rwanda and Uganda.
Incumbent President Joseph Kabila is ahead in partial results in the elections, which aim to complete a period of political transition. — Sapa-AFP