Angola Peace Talks Suspended

UNITA rebels suspended peace talks Thursday, accusing government troops of violating an hours-old cease-fire with offensives in northern and central Angola.

The insurgents walked out of the talks in Lusaka, Zambia, where the two sides had planned to sign a peace treaty Sunday.

A cease-fire signed Wednesday night was supposed to be the first step toward ending 19 years of civil war. The government said all fighting had stopped.

But civilians said the government shelled rebels regrouping around Huambo, the country’s second-largest city and a rebel stronghold until it was taken by the government last week.

Rebels also accused the government of attacking the northern city of Uige on Thursday, but a Defense Ministry spokesman said that city was seized “many hours” before the truce began.