DATE=12/10/1999
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=YEARENDER: ANGOLA WAR
NUMBER=5-44956
BYLINE=ALEX BELIDA
DATELINE=JOHANNESBURG
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: This past year saw the collapse of the United
Nations peacekeeping effort in Angola as all-out war
consumed the country once again, creating yet another
Angolan humanitarian catastrophe. V-O-A Southern
Africa Correspondent Alex Belida visited Angola
frequently during the past year, and he has this
report.
TEXT:
(OPT) /// SOUND OF CRYING MALNOURISHED BABY - FADE
UNDER ///
That is the sound of suffering, 1999-style in Angola.
A malnourished baby in the provincial capital of
Malange cries as it awaits treatment at an emergency
feeding center. What is unheard over its cries are
the distant explosions as government troops and UNITA
rebels exchange artillery fire around the besieged
city. (END OPT)
After more than two decades of fighting, and a brief,
uneasy peace, Angola is once again at war.
Richard Cornwell is a leading independent analyst at
South Africa's Institute for Security Studies. He
calls 1999 a terrible year for Angola and predicts the
year 2000 does not look as if it will be any better,
despite recent battlefield successes by Angolan
government troops:
/// CORNWELL ACTUALITY ///
It's been a terrible year for the Angolan people
who've seen their country once again ravaged
from top to bottom by war. The amount of
weaponry that's pouring into that region is
frightening, the technology that is been used is
being advanced all the time. We have a
miniature arms race going on. And it really
doesn't look all that good for the following
year because despite the fact that the Angolan
government has scored some successes in the
central highlands, UNITA is still largely
intact, it still retains massive guerrilla
capability. And I think we can anticipate that
by February or March they will have reorganized,
regrouped and re-equipped and retrained, and
that we'll see UNITA back on the warpath again.
/// END ACTUALITY ///
The renewed fighting put an end to an uneasy peace
process launched in Angola in 1994. The United
Nations, having spent about one-point-five-billion
dollars on the effort, finally shut down its
operations and withdrew its personnel.
The government of President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos
spurned international calls for fresh talks with
UNITA, led by Jonas Savimbi. Instead, it branded Mr.
Savimbi a war criminal and vowed to press ahead with
what it termed the final war for peace.
The government military effort started poorly, with
the surprisingly well-armed UNITA forces striking back
with a ferocity that stunned Angolan troops.
Eventually, with the help of newly acquired fighter-
bombers and other modern equipment, the government
side managed to dislodge UNITA from its traditional
strongholds in the country's central highlands. Rebel
leader Savimbi was put to flight along with his senior
staff.
However UNITA officials called the withdrawals from
Andulo and Bailundo a strategic move and denied rebel
forces had suffered any serious losses.
At year's end, senior Angolan officials indicated it
was just a matter of time before they killed or
captured Mr. Savimbi. Although there were rumors
that he might have fled abroad, UNITA said he was
still in Angola and still in command, planning an
unspecified counterstrike.
Government forces also appeared at year's end to be
threatening the rebels' longtime backup stronghold at
Jamba in deep southeastern Angola, close to the
country's borders with Namibia and Zambia. Both of
those countries reported thousands of Angolans were
crossing in search of refuge as fighting increased.
The United States ambassador to the United Nations,
Richard Holbrooke, visited Angola and other countries
in the region at year's end. He announced plans for a
special U-N Security Council session on the war in
January.
But it seemed unlikely there would be any quick relief
for the hundreds of thousands Angolans displaced by
the fighting and in growing need of emergency
assistance. (Signed)
NEB/BEL/JWH/KL
10-Dec-1999 08:39 AM EDT (10-Dec-1999 1339 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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