Government forces repel 300-strong UNITA force near Kuito

UNITA rebels launched an attack on Gamba commune, about 75 km north of Kuito, the capital of Bie province, this weekend. The attack, reports said, involved approximately 300 UNITA men. The attack took place early on Saturday morning. Reports said the objective was to advance past the Angolan army’s line. The attack on Gamba ended a period of relative military stability in the northern part of Bie. Meanwhile in its situation report for the period 13-19 November 2000, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Luanda said that over 10,000 new internally displaced persons (IDPs) had arrived in Kuito from several parts of the province and that this number was expected to increase. OCHA said that as the existing IDP camps in Kuito were already full, humanitarian partners decided to identify a site for a new IDP camp.