Rebels stage attack outside Uije

Suspected UNITA rebels have staged another attack near the town of Uije in northern Angola the independent ‘Radio Ecclesia’ reported on Wednesday. The attack took place in an area called Matuta, 13 km from Uije. The report said the attack was the second in two days in the area. On Monday UNITA attacked Uije town leaving one dead and one injured, aid workers were quoted as saying.

Reports added that Angola’s Roman Catholic bishops on Wednesday denounced the recent attacks by UNITA rebels outside the capital and on the town of Uije, saying the upsurge in violence would not bring them to power. “Killing innocent people is not going to bring UNITA to power,” the bishops said in a statement on ‘Radio Ecclesia’. “Spreading death will not create a climate for dialogue,” the bishops added. “We have always said to those in government that arrogance and excessive hunger for power by those in the majority party has transformed them into accomplices in the bloodbath of innocent people.”

Meanwhile, a UNITA official has denied kidnapping children during the attack on Caxito at the weekend. Speaking to the BBC, UNITA representative in Lisbon Carlos Morgado said UNITA handed the children back to their families, adding that these same children are in areas which are
under UNITA control.