Home | China | World | Business
Angolan Govt. Calls on UNITA Rebels to Surrender
MON, FEB 25, 2002    
The Angolan government has called on National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) rebels to hand in their weapons following the death of their leader Jonas Savimbi.

Angolan Foreign Minister Joao Bernardo de Miranda said over radio on Sunday that disarming rebel forces was the next priority for the government.

He said that the government "wants the rebel commanders who have troops to collaborate with the government so that the disarmament can proceed".

However, he warned that if the rebels "insist on the way of war,the disarmament will also be done by force".

The UNITA on Sunday confirmed the death of their leader Jonas Savimbi after television networks showed his bullet-riddled body late on Saturday.

The government said its troops killed Savimbi on Friday in the village of Lucusse, about 1,000 kilometers southeast of the capital Luanda.

Angolan television networks on Saturday showed Savimbi's corpse lying on a rough table under a tree.

Angolan news agency Angop reported on Saturday that the army had buried Savimbi in a cemetery in Luena, capital of Moxico.

The Angolan civil war which broke out in 1975 has claimed nearly one million lives.

Editor:Zhong Source:Xinhua
Recommend to your friend
email:   
China Central Television,All Rights Reserved