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Insecurity has increased in the Angolan provinces of Malanje, Huambo and Bie in the past week according to humanitarian agencies.
Clashes between the government army and UNITA rebels were reported in Catala/Caculama, 40 km from the northern city of Malanje, resulting in “massive population displacements” towards Malanje, a humanitarian agency report said. Fighting in the north around Uige has also caused people to flee south towards Negage.
In the central highlands, “heavy fighting” was reported 8 km from Kuito, the capital of Bie Province, during the night of 23-24 November. Some 150 km to the west of Kuito, a commercial convoy of 12 trucks contracted by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) was ambushed on 18 November between Caala and Angola’s second city of Huambo. No casualties were reported.
Meanwhile, malnutrition continues to rise among the resident population in Kuito. Of the 608 new cases registered in therapeutic and supplementary feeding centres combined in the city last week, some two-thirds were local residents.
“This coincides with high prices of food products and increased pressure on food availability,” the report added.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions