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Government rejects church offer to mediate peace talks

    JOHANNESBURG

    The Angolan government has rejected a proposal by Angola’s religious leaders to act as mediator between Luanda and UNITA rebel leader Jonas Savimbi in an effort to end the civil war, Angolan media reports said.

    “We have no elements which could lead us to change our position of not holding peace talks with this warlord,” Joao Lourenco, the ruling party’s Secretary-General, told the independent radio station ‘Luanda Antena Comercial’ on Thursday.

    The Angolan Episcopal Conference, the Protestant Council of Christian Churches in Angola, and the Angolan Evangelical Alliance last month urged the government and UNITA to negotiate an end to the civil war. The church group said they were ready to mediate talks between the government and Savimbi’s rebel group and that a 12-member panel of church officials would pursue possible avenues for peace with each side in the conflict.

    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

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