MPLA denies role in Moxico violence

Angola's ruling MPLA had nothing to do with attacks on the homes of people living in eastern Moxico province, a senior party official told IRIN on Wednesday. Aid workers operating in the area confirmed on Tuesday that up to 80 homes had been burned down in two attacks, which the opposition UNITA party alleged were politically motivated. "It's clear that neither the MPLA nor the police had anything to do with the mobilisation of the population against [former rebel movement] UNITA," said MPLA spokesman Kwata Kanawa. "In fact, it was the police and the local administration that tried to calm down the situation." Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) Belgium said that six of their local staff had lost their houses in the attacks, which affected between 30 and 80 homes. But Kanawa claimed a total of just seven homes had been destroyed in the incidents that took place last Wednesday and Saturday. "These aid workers should go and count the homes for themselves," he added. Other aid workers operating in the area alleged that a group of MPLA supporters, including police officers dressed in civilian clothes, had gone from house to house, setting them alight. UNITA alleged that the group had targeted members of their party and people from the Ovimbundu ethnic group, which has traditionally supported UNITA. Several other sources confirmed that the incident happened when a UNITA delegation arrived in Cazombo, accompanying a new local official. "The population said it didn't want this UNITA general in Cazombo, because he is originally from there and operated in the area during the armed conflict," Kanawa said. "Under his orders, UNITA destroyed an important bridge over the Zambezi River and people were killed. The population knows about this, and when they saw him returning to Cazombo for the first time, they mobilised themselves alone." UNITA should contact the MPLA directly when incidents of this sort take place, he said. "That's what we've agreed with them. They should come to us before approaching the media with unconfirmed stories."