More civilians flee UNITA-controlled areas

Three thousand internally displaced persons (IDPs) had arrived in the town of Cubal in the past few weeks, fleeing areas which were controlled by UNITA forces, Angolan press agency ANGOP reported on Thursday. Cubal is 150 km from the coastal city of Benguela. Benguela Province vice-governor Joao Evangelista Basilio, who is responsible for social affairs, confirmed this development, saying he was worried about the situation because food stocks were almost depleted, the report said. He told Angop that the displaced, taking advantage of the pressure being exerted by government forces, had fled UNITA areas.

Basilio said the people arriving in Cubal were showing acute signs of malnutrition and lacked clothing. Verissimo Sapala, administrator of Cubal District, was quoted saying that more than 168,000 displaced persons had been living in the town of Cubal since the outbreak of the war in 1992. The majority of the displaced persons had benefited from relief programmes sponsored by the government and humanitarian organisations, the report said.

Meanwhile, government authorities have reported a “critical” humanitarian situation in Cunene province in the south. Angolan radio on Thursday quoted Jose Bonifacio Caupo, local representative of the government’s Technical Unit for Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (UTCAH), saying that more than 60,000 war-displaced people in Cuvelai, Cuanhama and Namacunde lacked food, clothing and medical care. He said the worst-affected were the elderly, women and children.