Troops to say in Congo

Angola said it will keep troops in the Congo Republic to back the government as the two countries signed a deal on exploiting shared oil reserves, Reuters quoted state television as saying on Tuesday. Some 15,000 Angolan troops played a vital role in bringing Congo’s President Denis Sassou Nguessou to power during a 1997 civil war and have since been also used to quell militias opposed to Sassou.

It is not clear how many Angolan soldiers are still on Congolese territory, but they are known to be deployed at the airport of Dolisie, a strategic town in the southwest close to the Angola’s oil-rich province of Cabinda. Congolese opposition politicians have repeatedly demanded they leave, Reuters said. After a one-day visit to Luanda by Sassou, Congolese television quoted Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos late on Monday as saying that conditions were not yet right for the forces to be withdrawn. The TV report did not elaborate.

Meanwhile, Russia has completed delivery to Angola of a number of Mi-35 combat helicopters, the newspaper ‘Izvestiya’ reported on Monday. The delivery was realised in accordance with a contract concluded with Luanda and the Rosoboronehksport state company - the chief seller of Russian armament. The cost and size of the deal was not disclosed, the newspaper added.