UN sanctions violated

A UN Security Council report on UNITA sanctions busting alleged on Wednesday that, following the signing of the 1994 Lusaka Protocol on Angola, UNITA moved a “significant amount” of military equipment into Congo to avoid UN monitoring. The report stated that the equipment was progressively fed back into UNITA-controlled parts of Angola by air from Pointe-Noire between 1994 and 1998, although it said there was no independent confirmation of the claim. The report also said the former Congolese government had in 1995 acceded to a request by UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi to facilitate the purchase of 10,000 military uniforms, in violation of UN sanctions. The uniforms were bought from a French factory under the cover of the Brazzaville government, but there was reportedly no direct contact with the French government on the deal, it added.