Truce Violation Discounted in Angola Copter Downing
The government accused UNITA rebels Saturday of shooting down an army helicopter and killing 22 soldiers on board, but said it was not a major violation of the current truce.
The official Jornal de Angola newspaper said the helicopter was downed Friday in southeastern Cuando-Cubango province while carrying sick and wounded soldiers. An accompanying editorial indicated that the government did not consider it a major incident.
A UNITA spokesman said the helicopter might have been hit accidentally by rebel fire but insisted it was not an intentional violation of a peace treaty signed last Sunday to end Angola’s 19-year war.
After signing the treaty in Lusaka, Zambia, the government and UNITA, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola, declared a truce Tuesday to end fighting that has killed 500,000 Angolans since war erupted on the eve of independence from Portugal in 1975.
The cease-fire has generally held. Negotiations on a power-sharing agreement are to intensify this week when rebel leaders are expected to return to the capital for the first time in two years.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
