Search
  1. Home
  2. Southern Africa
  3. Angola

UNITA rebels shell Angolan city

    JOHANNESBURG
    The UNITA rebel movement shelled the central highland city of Huambo, official Angolan news reports said on Thursday. The rebels launched their attack from about 40km outside the city on Wednesday evening. Initial reports said at least five civilians were wounded in the attack. The government controlled city, lies some 530 km southeast of the Angolan capital, Luanda. Meanwhile, the council of ministers in the Angolan government on Friday is expected to unveil an emergency aid program, which could include the opening of humanitarian corridors to ensure the safety of aid workers. Humanitarian groups call for international mediation Sixty humanitarian organisations in Angola have called for an "internal mediation commission" to broker an end to the civil war between government forces and UNITA rebels, media reports said on Thursday. According to reports, Thursday was declared a "day of reflection" on peace in Luanda. This latest initiative is among several to emerge in Angola in recent weeks. A "peace manifesto" was launched on July 15 by unionists and intellectuals, while the Catholic Church, which did not back the manifesto, set up a "movement for peace."

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

    Share this article

    Our ability to deliver compelling, field-based reporting on humanitarian crises rests on a few key principles: deep expertise, an unwavering commitment to amplifying affected voices, and a belief in the power of independent journalism to drive real change.

    We need your help to sustain and expand our work. Your donation will support our unique approach to journalism, helping fund everything from field-based investigations to the innovative storytelling that ensures marginalised voices are heard.

    Please consider joining our membership programme. Together, we can continue to make a meaningful impact on how the world responds to crises.

    Become a member of The New Humanitarian

    Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

    Join