Oxfam: Angola must help citizens

The international humanitarian organisation, Oxfam, has called on the Angolan government to take more responsibility for the needs of those of its citizens affected by the country's long civil war.

Oxfam's director, Barbara Stocking - speaking at the end of a visit to Angola - urged both the government and Unita rebels, as well as the international community, to seek a peaceful settlement in the country.

She said it was the only way out of Angola's humanitarian crisis. In the country's central highlands, more than 100,000 people are living in displaced people's camps, heavily dependent on aid. Miss Stocking said Oxfam also intended to lobby the transnational oil companies which work in Angola and produce most of the country's wealth.

But the Oxfam director conceded that peace moves would take time.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service