Zambia detains 12 suspected MPLA soldiers

Twelve Angolan government soldiers have been detained after crossing the border into Zambia’s North Western province, news reports said on Tuesday. They said the soldiers crossed into Zambia on Sunday and handed themselves over to the authorities after Zambian security officers spotted them from a border post. “We are currently keeping the MPLA soldiers after they voluntarily handed themselves over to us. We have disarmed them and we are now waiting for further instructions from foreign affairs,” a Zambian police official was quoted as saying. Mwinilunga District Administrator, Peter Mpashi, said the soldiers were causing chaos in the district. “The 12 suspected (government) soldiers clad in uniforms were in Mwinilunga looting property and animals before they were picked up,” he said. Mpashi alleged that this was the seventh time Angolan government soldiers had crossed into Zambia.