SADC seeks to defuse tensions

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has said offered to help defuse three weeks of tension between Angola and Zambia over Angolan claims of Zambian assistance to the rebel UNITA movement. An SADC official told IRIN on Tuesday that the regional body was concerned about the two countries’ relations, and that it had discussed the issue with them last week on the sidelines of the Lusaka talks aimed at achieving a ceasefire in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The official said the SADC was considering “the possibility of convening a meeting to facilitate corrective measures” aimed at restoring good relations. The SADC would seek only a political solution and would not send a verification mission to Zambia to look into the Angolan allegations. Zambia had asked the UN, the OAU and regional institutions to verify the Angolan claims. Although SADC states had undertaken not to assist UNITA, the official said it was not impossible that individuals in nations like Zambia could operate in breach of government regulations.