Angola rebels strike at northern town

Much of Angola has been devastated by war

By Justin Pearce in Luanda

The Angolan rebel movement, Unita, attacked the northern provincial capital of Uige in the early hours of this morning before being driven out during fighting with the Angolan armed forces.

This is the latest in a series of Unita attacks on important towns in the north of the country.

Civilians and Unita soldiers were among those killed

Witnesses to the attack said the rebels arrived in Uige at about 0300 firing mortars and automatic weapons and detonating grenades.

They got as far as the centre of the city before being driven back.

Uige, which lies about 350km north-east of Luanda and is the capital of the province of the same name, is now calm once again.

But a witness said the bodies of Unita soldiers were lying in the streets this morning as people made their way to work.

There are also believed to have been civilian deaths.

Warnings

Sources in the city say the army had been warned that there had been a risk of attack and residents had been on alert for several days.

The fighting was not as heavy as the last time that Unita attacked Uige on the 26 June this year.

But all the roads surrounding the city are closed and flights to the area have been cancelled.

Soldiers of the Angolan armed forces are pursuing the rebels and there is still believed to be a strong Unita presence around the city on all sides.

Over the past six months the rebels have staged a series of hit and run raids on towns in the north of Angola.

But have often managed to evade capture by keeping almost constantly on the move.

The object appears to be to sow terror in areas usually seen as supporting the ruling MPLA party.