Kuito siege tightened

UNITA rebels on Wednesday were reported to have tightened their siege of the government-held city of Kuito in two days of heavy fighting with government forces.

Sources in the Angolan capital, Luanda, told IRIN they believed that two strategic towns outside Kuito, Cunhinga, 30 km to the northwest, and Chipeta, 20 km northeast of the Bie Province capital had been captured by UNITA. There was no independent or official confirmation of the reports.

“Such a situation would put UNITA in a position to attack Kuito itself,” the sources said.

Meanwhile, UN humanitarian officials said that aid flights to Kuito had been stopped until further notice. They said that relief flights to the neighbouring central highlands city of Huambo, 180 km southeast of Kuito were operating normally.

They were concerned that Kuito, many of its buildings abandoned or partially destroyed in earlier battles, was ill-equipped to cope with 35,000 displaced people seeking shelter there. “What is worse, is that more and more people are fleeing towards Kuito from the latest fighting,” the official said.

In a separate development, the UN Humanitarian Assistance Coordination Unit (UCAH) reported on Wednesday that WFP had managed to deliver 360 mt of emergency food supplies by road to another besieged city. It was the first time in weeks, that Malanje, 350 km east of Luanda, had received emergency supplies.