Namibia and Zimbabwe have both denied allegations by Angola’s opposition UNITA movement that they have intervened in the Angolan conflict on the side of the government, according to media reports on Tuesday.
A Reuters dispatch quoted UNITA’s secretary-general, Paulo Lukamba Gato as saying Namibia and Zimbabwe troops had entered Angolan territory last Friday: “We urge the international community to consider seriously the fact that the involvement of these forces constitutions the last log in a region that is becoming a huge fire.”
But ‘The Namibian’ newspaper quoted a defence ministry spokesman as saying the charges were “devoid of any truth”, and the Zimbabwe government also issued a similar denial through its national media.
In August, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Angola intervened in the neighbouring Democratic republic of the Congo (DRC) to back DRC President Laurent-Desire Kabila against anti-Kinshasa rebels.
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