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President Frederick Chiluba of Zambia has denied Angolan charges that Zambia had provided arms to the UNITA rebel movement, according to Zambian news reports at the weekend.
In an address to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Council of Ministers meeting in Lusaka on Friday, Chiluba reiterated Zambian suggestions over the past two weeks that the UN and other international bodies investigate the Angolan claims.
“We do not have the capacity nor resources to prosecute a war with Angola,” he was quoted as saying. “We have sacrificed in the past for Angola’s independence and we do not want to throw that kind of peace to the winds.”
Zambia’s support for Angola dated back to the armed struggle against Portuguese colonialism, when many leaders of today’s governing MPLA enjoyed refuge in Zambia, Chiluba said.
“There is no justifiable cause for Zambia to assist rebel UNITA, the renegade recalcitrants,” Chiluba told the meeting which was chaired by South African Foreign Minister Alfred Nzo.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions