Riot over generator leaves unknown number dead

At least three people were killed in riots on Monday in the remote Angolan town of Cafunfo, where residents accused the local administrator of selling the town's only electricity generator to a diamond company. Police said three civilians were shot dead, but the leading opposition party in the region alleged that 16 people, including three police officers, were killed when the demonstrations turned violent. Police spokesman Carmo Neto said the source of Cafunfo's electricity supply was taken away for repairs. However, Joaquim Nfoia, a senior official in the Partido de Renovacao Social (PRS) party, which enjoys widespread support in the northeastern province of Lunda Norte, said locals were furious because the town administrator had sold the generator to a diamond company. Neto said 64 people were arrested during Monday's demonstration after a faction of the demonstrators turned violent, attacked police officers and vandalised their headquarters. The officers were forced to open fire, killing two Angolans and one Congolese civilian. But Nfoia, relaying information from his party colleagues on the ground, alleged police had shot indiscriminately, killing 13 protestors and injuring a further 67 people, 14 of them seriously. "There are 16 dead, including the three police officers, 14 gravely injured and 53 wounded," Nfoia told IRIN. "The local administrator sold the generator to a diamond company. Lots of people did not accept this and demonstrated. The town has no electricity at all; the schools have no electricity; the hospital outpost has no electricity - we have nothing. It's wrong," Nfoia said, adding that the situation in the town remained tense. INFORMATION STILL SKETCHY The circumstances surrounding the alleged deaths of three policeman remain open to interpretation. Some reports said the officers had become separated from their colleagues and were killed by angry mobs, while others said they were caught in the crossfire between police and rioting residents. The governor of Lunda Norte further complicated the picture by issuing a statement saying only one person had died, and that five generators, or parts of a generator system, had been moved to the provincial capital, Lucapa, on the decision of the executive council, Radio Ecclesia reported on its website. "You've got the governor saying one thing and the police saying another. The police can't admit that there are more dead because they would have to assume responsibility," said Luanda-based civil rights campaigner Rafael Marquez. "The government is too disorganised - there's no consistency between their statement and the police reaction. The statements from people on the ground are much more consistent," he alleged. Independent verification of the facts is difficult to obtain as Lunda Norte is a remote province and information is slow in reaching the capital, Luanda. Marquez said investigations were underway, which should shed light on the incident. A group of parliamentarians is also said to be visiting Cafunfo on a fact-finding mission this week to piece together the course of events in the town.