Fighting flares outside Kuito

Fierce fighting was reported on Tuesday near the besieged government-held city of Kuito as Angolan army forces battled to oust UNITA rebels from a nearby town. UN officials told IRIN they were concerned that Kuito would come within shelling range of UNITA artillery in coming days. The capital of Bie Province, Kuito lies in the central highlands some 600 km southeast of the capital, Luanda. Kuito, which already provides refuge to an estimated 35,000 displaced people, was having to cope with thousands more who had fled there in recent days. A WFP flight, the first since the weekend of 12 March when non-essential humanitarian staff were evacuated and aid flights stopped, delivered 17 mt of emergency food on Tuesday. “But as soon as it landed the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) commander in Kuito ordered the pilot to leave because of the situation,” a UN official said. Overnight, he said, the town of Cunhinga, 30 km northwest of Kuito had become the scene of fierce fighting which appeared to be intensifying. “After the WFP delivery, the UN decided today that remaining international staff in Kuito should be withdrawn. Only three international humanitarian officers now remain, two with MSF Belgium and one from the ICRC,” the official said. He added that local humanitarian staff in the city were now forced to ration further food distribution.