ANGOLA: Food situation turns critical

The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) has appealed to the international donor community to provide funds for airlifting food to displaced Angolans in the embattled cities in the
country's highlands.

The appeal follows the closure of many access roads because of the deteriorating security situation in the country caused by fighting between UNITA rebels and government forces.

In its appeal, WFP says it is seeking US $8.8 million "to charter cargo aircraft to transport desperately needed food to the war-affected cities of Kuito, Huambo and Luena where supplies are running out." Franceso Strippoli, the agency's Angolan representative, said: "Most cities in the highlands are virtually isolated because of the ongoing fighting, and the
hundreds of people that have sought refuge in these areas are also cut off from outside assistance."

Meanwhile, attacks on civilian convoys have been on the increase in areas nominally controlled by government forces. Humanitarian workers told IRIN on Friday that an incident in Kwanza Sul on 14 April resulted in more casualties than initially reported. In addition to the six aid workers killed then, 14 other people were killed on the same day and in the same place, the humanitarian workers said, adding that similar incidents have
since occurred with many people brutally murdered.

Both government forces and UNITA rebels are reportedly rearming and recruiting fresh troops ahead of the dry season which begins in May and is expected to signal a more intense phase of the war.