Angola asks for clarity

Angola has asked the Zambian government to explain the bombing of its embassy on Sunday in which an Angolan guard was killed and his Zambian colleague injured.

The bomb was one of a series that rocked the capital Lusaka, damaging amongst others the water supply utility and electiricity pylons.

Angolan government radio quoted deputy foreign minister Deputy Foreign Minister Toco Sarao as telling reporters his government had on Monday summoned Zambia’s charge d’affaires in Angola to request clarity on the security that was provided by the Zambians for the embassy.

“We have demanded that the Zambian authorities explain what measures they took after the incident, and what protection our embassy had before the incident. We have information that there was a bomb explosion and that an Angolan guard was killed. This means that the Zambian authorities did not provide protection, otherwise Zambian guards could also have been killed,” Sarao said.

At the same time, in a separate radio broadcast monitored by the BBC, Angola’s UNITA rebel movement was quoted today blaming the Angolan government for the explosions in Lusaka.

Meanwhile, ‘The Post’ quoted Zambian police today as saying two more unexploded bombs had been found on the outskirts of Lusaka. One bomb was found in the Bauleni compound next to a damaged electricity pylon, while the other was found in Chilanga next to a damaged feeder water pipe. Both places where the unexploded devices were found were scenes of Sunday’s explosions.