Angola Rebels Threaten War Over Disputed Vote Results

Rebels who fought the government in a 16-year civil war threatened Monday to resume “immediate war” if disputed results from last month’s elections are published.

Elias Salupeto Pena, a leader in the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola, or UNITA, repeated claims of vote fraud and called for Angola’s first multi-party election to be annulled.

“The situation is so grave we cannot imagine the publication of such fraudulent results because this will mean immediate war,” Salupeto Pena told Portugal’s Antena 1 radio.

Electoral officials have delayed publication of the results to allow time to investigate UNITA’s fraud claims, but they are expected to announce the winner from the Sept. 29-30 balloting this week.

The latest partial results, which were released last week, showed President Jose Eduardo dos Santos and his Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola, or MPLA, ahead of UNITA’s Jonas Savimbi.

On Sunday, heavy fighting flared between police and UNITA supporters in central Luanda, the Angolan capital.

Witnesses said UNITA opened fire with grenade launchers, machine guns and mortars after two men in an unmarked car shot and injured two UNITA guards at the hotel. One policeman and three civilians were reported killed.

Salupeto Pena said the incident has prevented UNITA officials from traveling to the provinces to look into the fraud claims.

MPLA officials accused UNITA of staging the shootout to raise tensions.