WFP convoy ambushed

One person was killed and another seriously wounded at the weekend when suspected UNITA rebels ambushed a WFP food convoy and made off with supplies intended for two kitchens run by Catholic Relief Services in the southwestern town of Cubal.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Angola (UCAH) told IRIN on Wednesday the attack occurred on Sunday when four lorries carrying 50 mt of maize, beans, salt and cooking oil were ambushed just outside Cubal 85 km inland from the coastal town of Lobito.

“Three of the lorries were burned and one managed to return,” a UCAH spokesman said. “A survivor reported seeing men in UNITA uniforms at the time.” He said the fourth lorry had managed to get away from the scene unscathed because it was lagging behind the convoy. It returned a few hours later to fetch the casualties and survivors who fled on foot.

The convoy was to have restocked two CRS kitchens providing relief for an estimated 30,000 people displaced by fighting in the area. A month ago, a lorry used by the same transport company, Ministro, was destroyed by a mine along the same road.