Army general says he will shorten war

Chief-of-Staff of the Angolan army General Joao de Matos, said that he would “take measures to shorten the war,” Angolan television reported on Thursday. He said that the steps would not “worsen the already precarious conditions in which our people live.” The general said that the government was paying particular attention to the political and medical situation in the Luanda Norte province where he claimed that the UNITA rebel movement had plundered property and then sought refuge in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Interior minister pledges to reduce “rampant crime” Interior Minister Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos Nando said that he would reduce crime within a week, Angolan state media reported on Thursday. The minister said that crime had become rampant and that it was “necessary to apply the breaks” and that the government had been taken by surprise by the sense of insecurity felt by its citizens.