UN calls for release of Caxito hostages

In a joint statement on Tuesday, UNICEF and the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Angola said they were shocked and saddened by this past weekend’s mass abduction of at least 60 Angolan children during an attack by UNITA rebels near the town of Caxito, about 54 km northeast of Luanda. The UNICEF Representative in Angola and the UN Humanitarian Coordinator urgently called on the perpetrators to ensure the safe and immediate release of the children.

The children were abducted during an attack on Children’s Town, a home for children run by the Danish NGO ADPP, about 10 km outside Caxito. The children range in age from 10-18 years and include nine girls and 51 boys. One of their Angolan teachers was also abducted. The current welfare and whereabouts of the children and their teacher is unknown. The statement pointed out that the mass abduction, which took place in the early hours of Saturday 5 May, demonstrated that children caught in conflict zones are often the first to suffer.

In addition to a number of civilian casualties, four humanitarian workers were also killed in the attack, including an Angolan doctor working with the Italian organization COSV, and three Angolan staff members of ADPP - two teachers and a support worker. The statement said that this was not the first such attack resulting in the mass abduction of children in Angola: two similar cases occurred last year, resulting in the deaths of some children, and similar abductions have taken place throughout Angola’s long civil conflict. The majority of these children have never been heard from again.