UNITA attack three towns

An attack by UNITA rebels early on Wednesday in south-central Angola left a number of people dead and many wounded, state radio reported on Thursday. The rebels attacked Longonjo and Tchindjenje, two towns west of the provincial capital, Huambo. Longonjo and Tchindjenje, which are 30 km apart, are major gateways to Huambo, located on the main road to the Atlantic seaport of Benguela. In a third attack, UNITA forces reportedly rocketed vehicles near Uchi, 10 km from Benguela. Witnesses said at least two peope died and 11 were wounded when five private vehicles were hit. Police said the vehicles were burnt beyond recognition. This is the third attack near Benguela in recent months. Angola’s civil war has raged almost uninterrupted since independence from Portugal in 1975. The war, which resumed in earnest in 1998 after the collapse of a 1994 peace accord, has left at least 500,000 people dead and four million displaced out of a total population of 12 million.