Lusaka holds six Caprivi separatists

The Zambian authorities are holding six Namibian Caprivi secessionists in Lusaka, although it is unknown under what charge the men are being detained, diplomatic sources told IRIN on Thursday.

Media reports originally said that four secessionist leaders, who had absconded from Botswana last month where they had been granted temporary asylum, had been detained in the western Zambian town of Mongu, close to the Angolan border. The Zambian government has not released details of the other two men, the sources said.

Caprivi secessionism is closely linked to separatist demands in Zambia's western Barotseland region. The pre-colonial Barotse kingdom straddled the border between the two countries, and Lozis in Zambia share close cultural and political ties with ethnic groups in the Caprivi that were assimilated under Barotse rule.

Zambian President Frederick Chiluba said in April following a meeting with his Namibian counterpart Sam Nujoma that neither country would tolerate secessionism.

"Sympathy for the Caprivi group in Mongu is probably why they were transferred to Lusaka," one diplomat said.

Meanwhile, regional analysts told IRIN there is mounting evidence that the Angolan rebel group UNITA is training Caprivi dissidents inside Angola. The sources said that some villages in Caprivi close to the border have emptied, with the inhabitants believed to be inside Angola with UNITA. The four Caprivi leaders in Mongu were reportedly planning to cross into
Angola.