Angolan attack mars peace hopes

The Luena talks have been extended for a week

Suspected Unita rebels have killed 15 people near the coastal city of Benguela, a church-run radio station in Angola reports.

The attack comes as the government says it is hopeful that a ceasefire will be signed soon with Unita's remaining leadership.

However, talks in the eastern town of Luena have already been extended by a week.

The killing of Unita's leader, Jonas Savimbi, last month raised hopes that Angola's 27-year civil war would soon end.

The latest attack was carried out on the village of Cubal, near Benguela, reported Radio Ecclesia.

The Catholic Church-run radio station quoted military sources as saying that it was the work of Unita guerrillas but this has not been confirmed and the BBC's Justin Pearce in Luanda says that bandits are known to operate in the area.

Not signed

On Thursday, Angola's Deputy Foreign Minister Georges Chicoti said that negotiations between government military commanders and their Unita counterparts were on the verge of concluding with a deal that would lead to a ceasefire.

There have not been any contradictions on major issues

Georges Chicoti
Deputy foreign minister

"The negotiations are going well. There have not been any contradictions on major issues. They seem to be agreeing on all elements," he told journalists in Geneva.

But our correspondent says the government has been making equally positive statements for a week and nothing has yet been signed.

Meanwhile, Savimbi's death continues to alter the make-up of Angolan and Unita politics.

A group of Angolan Government members allied with the Unita movement has decided to recognise the leadership of General Paulo Lukamba "Gato", the rebel leader currently overseeing peace talks with the Angolan army.

The move is a further step towards the reunification of Unita, which in recent years has been split into rebel and legal political factions.

New leader

Five deputy government ministers are among the group of 24 Unita figures who signed a statement acknowledging General Gato's leadership.

General Gato is now recognised as Unita's new leader

The deputy ministers were previously part of the Unita-Renovada faction, which in 1998 distanced itself from the then Unita leader Jonas Savimbi.

The Angolan Government recognises Unita-Renovada's leader, Eugenio Manuvakola, as the legitimate leader of the Unita movement.

On Tuesday a group of Unita parliamentarians not aligned with Unita-Renovada said they had decided to acknowledge General Gato's leadership.

Our correspondent says it is now widely believed that Unita's Vice-President Antonio Dembo is dead, as the government had earlier claimed.

General Gato, as the movement's secretary general would be next in line to take over Unita's leadership.