Military supplies flow into Huambo

Angola's second city of Huambo, surrounded by UNITA rebel forces, is being steadily reinforced by a government determined to win back the central highlands from rebel leader Jonas Savimbi. Daily flights bring in yet more military equipment, taking precedence over food supplies for a hungry city and army, and it is from here that the government's long-promised cold season offensive is expected to start. UNITA's regular attempts since mid-June to shell the airport into long-term closure have so far failed, with the artillery rounds hitting instead residential areas. There is little news released on the civilian victims or their localities for fear that information would be used by UNITA gunners to correct their aim. The central highlands are ethnically Ovimbundu from whom UNITA overwhelmingly draws the bulk of its support. UNITA have their followers in the city, but according analysts, residents have grim memories of UNITA's brutal 55-day occupation of Huambo five-years-ago. Politically, UNITA's position is not helped by the 175,000 newly displaced it has forced off the land and into the city. "This is not an easy war because there can be no neutrality here," one analyst told IRIN. "People don't want to support UNITA because of the war and they don't want to support the government either. But people fear UNITA in a different way they fear the government. For UNITA this war is like a religious mission." When launched, the government's offensive is expected to attempt a drive into the heart of UNITA territory. Among Luanda's long-cherished goals are to capture the key towns of Andulo, Savimbi's birthplace, and his Bailundo headquarters, also the home of King Ekuikui, the traditional and spiritual leader of the Ovimbundu. The government's last attempt in December was decisively stopped by UNITA at the Wama junction, north of Huambo. The army would now be forced to fight its way back, facing UNITA's forces not only equipped with conventional armour but also veterans of guerrilla warfare. Analysts in Huambo close to the military believe that a direct assault on UNITA's key towns "would be suicide" and instead the government would settle for capturing UNITA bases in the Mungo, Bailundo and Andulo areas. Aid workers are however concerned that a return to full-scale fighting "would cause a catastrophic humanitarian situation and the population would suffer again."