Lusaka accuses Angola of border raids

Zambian Defence Minister Chitalu Sampa on Wednesday accused Angola of launching cross-border air and ground attacks in Zambia’s Western and North Western Provinces. Sampa said in a statement that the attacks had included the dropping of incendiary bombs on a Zambian village and the killing of a Zambian soldier by Angolan troops who had crossed into the country. “The Zambian government has expressed its concern about this state of affairs to the Angolan government through its embassy in Lusaka,” he said. Citing the deterioration of the security situation in the two provinces which share over 1,200 km of border with Angola, Sampa said the military incursions into Zambia had been accompanied by “banditry, looting, abductions, thefts of food and livestock, loss of lives and property”. As a result of the attacks, Zambian citizens were being forced to abandon their homes near the border in both provinces. Sampa said one of the “cardinal principles” of Lusaka’s foreign policy had been the maintenance of “good and friendly relations with all our neighbours, including Angola”. In recent incidents, he said on 17 April, eight Angolan aircraft had violated Zambian airspace in Mwinilunga, in North West Province. The aircraft were en route to UNITA rebel targets in neighbouring Angola’s Moxico Province. On 23 April, a Zambian army patrol had encountered a contingent of about 60 Angolan soldiers at Nguvu, 20 km into Zambian territory. “The Angolan troops opened fire on our patrol which forced the Angolans to flee towards the border. There were no casualties on the Zambian side,” he said. The fleeing soldiers had left behind clearly marked Angolan police and army uniforms. On 25 April, two Angolan fighter aircraft dropped two incendiary bombs which exploded near a village in Jimbe. Although no casualties were sustained, the attack “caused extensive damage and panic in the area”. On 27 April, a company of Angolan troops crossed into Zambia at Nzie village near Sinjembela in the southwest. They fired at a Zambian patrol killing one soldier and wounding three others.