Relief flights arrive in Huambo, Kuito

The humanitarian community in Angola has expressed serious concern over the situation in the strife-torn cities of Huambo and Kuito, while announcing the arrival of relief flights in both places on Friday. In a press statement, received by IRIN, the UN’s Humanitarian Assistance Coordination Unit (UCAH) said it expected the present security situation to remain such that the relief flights would be able to continue. Friday’s flights, operated by WFP, carried food supplies to the cities. Meanwhile, WFP disputed media reports that the beleaguered town of Malanje was facing a food crisis. “The problem is not lack of food but distribution,” a spokeswoman in Luanda told IRIN on Monday. She said there were 1,500 mt of food in the town, but there were few humanitarian workers to help with the distribution. News organisations reported that the rebel UNITA movement last week seized the key Porto Salazar bridge in Malanje, but according to humanitarian sources, there was currently a stand-off between UNITA and government troops and traffic was still moving across the bridge. The Angolan government meanwhile accused UNITA of destabilising the country by not complying with the Lusaka peace protocol, and named Burkina Faso, Togo, Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia as countries responsible for re-arming the rebel group. In a statement, broadcast by Angolan radio on Saturday, the government stressed it did not recognise Jonas Savimbi as UNITA leader and that it would only talk to the breakaway UNITA-Renovada group. The statement reiterated that the presence of the UN peacekeeping force, MONUA, was “no longer justified”. The UN should help Angola, but only with regard to relief work. Furthermore, sanctions against UNITA should be tightened, the statement said.