The UN reports that a large number of peopleare fleeing fighting around Sanza Pombo. In Huila province, a road bridge linking Matala and Kuvango was destroyed. Rebels are alsosaid to have seized the town of Jamba in the same province. About100 bodies were found dumped in four wells in the Chipeta region of Bieprovince near Cuito. There is still no sign of the expected dry-season offensive by governmentforces.
Military supplies are still being flown into Huambo, reports say.
IMF visits Angola again An International Monetary Fund mission arrived in Angola on 31 August toassess the implementation of the latest economic reforms. In particular, exchange rate policy and transparencyin oil revenues have posed obstacles to IMF participation in the country. However, the current Finance Minister, Joaquim David, and the Governor ofthe Bank of Angola, Aguinaldo Jaime, have an increasingly high reputation in financial circles for their handling of the recent financial crisis whichsaw the government's budget shrink by a third in a short space of time asoil prices plummeted. The UN has announced that it is to open a liaison office in Luanda comprised of 30 people. A Security Council resolution authorising the mission is expected to beapproved after 23 September.