From: vamg6792@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Mbanane)
Subject: UPI: Angola
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Sat, 7 Nov 1992 16:21:17 GMT



	JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (UPI) -- Angola tilted toward renewed civil
war early Sunday morning as reports from the capital Luanda described
heavy fighting between government troops and former rebel soldiers.
	``It seems (the former rebel National Union for the Total Liberation
of Angola) UNITA is attacking the capital in force,'' South African
Foreign Affairs spokesman Awie Marais told reporters after contacting
South Africa's diplomatic mission in Angola.
	``What we are getting from the mission is that it's a very dicey
situation in Luanda at the moment,'' Marais said.
	Angola has crept toward civil war since the country's first
democratic elections, which gave victory to the ruling Popular
Liberation Movement of Angola (MPLA). The results were disputed by UNITA
leader Jonas Savimbi.
	The United Nations has declared the elections ``generally free and
fair'' and warned it would not recognize any government installed by
force.
	The Johannesburg-based Radio 702 quoted eyewitnesses in Luanda
reporting machine gun fire as well as mortar and rocket-propelled
grenade attacks in the capital.
	The heaviest fighting appeared to be around the Hotel Turismo which
UNITA troops are using as a base. Fighting has also been reported near
Luanda's international airport, as well as in the town of Ndalatando,
125 miles east of Luanda.
	Fighting appeared to have erupted hours after UNITA and the MPLA
Saturday broke off negotiations aimed at resolving the country's
political crisis.
	There are no official figures on the number of people killed or
wounded in the latest violence.
	The United States has ordered all non-essential staff out of Angola,
while Brazilian troops have arrived in the former Portuguese colony's
capital to help evacuate Brazilian nationals, Radio 702 reported.
	News reports from Lisbon said Portugal had sent a frigate carrying
200 marine troops to prepare for a possible evacuation of its 40,000
nationals in the country. The South African government announced
Saturday it was trying to organize a flight to Angola to airlift at
least 18 South African citizens trapped in the country.
	Britain Friday warned its nationals to leave Angola. The South
African Press Association has reported that many Angolans are fleeing
the violence and making their way south to Angola's border with Namibia.
	The fighting in Luanda followed clashes earlier in the week in the
southern province of Benguela, with most of the conflict centered on the
province's capital of Huambo.
	Momentum toward full-scale civil war started when Savimbi charged
electoral fraud and refused to accept the results of democratic
elections held Sept. 29-30.
	The former rebel leader indicated he would rather take up arms again
than accept defeat and withdrew his troops from the recently formed
national army, retreating to his stronghold in Huambo.
	The elections were expected to be Angola's first taste of democracy
after the country emerged last year from a 16-year civil war between the
U.S. and South African-supported UNITA and Soviet and Cuban-backed MPLA.
	The war ended with the signing of the Estotil accord in Lisbon.
	Although diplomatic attempts to arrange a meeting between Savimbi and
MPLA leader Eduardo dos Santos failed, Savimbi appeared placated when
the polls showed dos Santos had failed to obtain the necessary absolute
majority and a second round of presidential elections would have to be
held.
	In the same vote the MPLA won a majority in the legislature.
	However, UNITA has since reiterated its claim of electoral fraud and
demanded that elections for the 223-seat legislature also be repeated,
and that a two-party coalition government rule the country until the
next round of elections.
	The MPLA offered to form a temporary government of national unity
with UNITA and other smaller parties, but only if UNITA troops were
demobilized and returned to the armed forces.
	By late last week the negotiations between the two parties were
reported to have had made little headway.