The World - News from March 14, 1989

Angolan rebel leader Jonas Savimbi offered to refrain from military offensives until July 15 and proposed other concessions in hopes of bringing the Marxist government to negotiations after 14 years of civil war. In an interview at rebel headquarters in Jamba, Angola, Savimbi said he is “optimistic” about a settlement. He said his National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) would also free 100 captured government troops and allow the reopening of the vital Benguela railway as inducements. Savimbi denounced published reports that UNITA forces have tortured and killed rebel dissidents, dismissing this as propaganda. In Washington, State Department spokesman Charles Redman conceded that the department could not confirm the allegations.