ANGOLA: Battle for key highland town
ANGOLA: Battle for key highland town
Angolan government forces and UNITA rebels were engaged in heavy fighting
for control of the town of Umpulo in the central highland province of Bie, a
government military source told the Portuguese news agency Lusa on Friday.
Umpulo, which was recaptured by UNITA two weeks ago, is "under strong
pressure from the government army", said the source who asked to remain
unidentified. The town is located on the right bank of the Cuanza River in a
densely forested region southeast of the provincial capital Kuito. Heavy
rainfall and the difficult terrain have hampered the intervention of
government aircraft, usually a crucial factor in Angolan military
operations, the report said.
The town had recently been referred to as the new UNITA bastion in the
central highlands, following the loss last autumn of the rebel group's
traditional highland strongholds of Bailundo and Andulo. Other unconfirmed
reports claim that rebel leader Jonas Savimbi is in the region. Government
forces captured Umpulo during an offensive launched in late September but
were pushed out by UNITA on 20 October.
ZIMBABWE: Supreme Court hears appeal
Zimbabwe's Supreme Court began hearing an appeal on Monday by white farmers
challenging the constitutionality of President Robert Mugabe seizing their
land without compensation, Reuters reported.
The mainly white 4,500-member Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) filed an
application in September to contest the legality of Mugabe's land
redistribution programme, which he has vowed "will never be stopped by
anyone or any court". In the past week, Zimbabwe's official media have
carried articles questioning the ability of the judiciary to be impartial on
the land issue and advertisements praising Mugabe's stance.
Earlier this year Mugabe amended the constitution to give him power to seize
white-owned farms for blacks with no obligation to pay for the land if
former colonial power Britain does not provide funding.
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