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UNITA rebel forces have recaptured the town of Umpulo, in the Camacupa district of central Angola’s Bie province, a government military source told Lusa on Tuesday in the city of Kuito.
Rebel units entered the town on Friday after fierce fighting forced government troops to withdraw, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous.
The battle began on Thursday, with UNITA pounding the area with artillery before sending in ground troops, he added. The source did not provide details on eventual casualties on the government side, saying only that the military situation in the region was “confusing” and that army troops were preparing efforts to retake the town.
After the fall of its traditional central highland bastions, Andulo and Bailundo, in the autumn of 1999, UNITA shifted its main command centre to Umpulo, which lies on the right bank of the Cuanza river about 180 km southeast of the Bie capital Kuito. The two sides engaged in an intense see-saw battle for Umpulo last October, before government troops finally established control in early November.
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