The UN reports that a large number of people are fleeing fighting around Sanza Pombo. In Huila province, a road bridge linking Matala and Kuvango was destroyed. Rebels are also said to have seized the town of Jamba in the same province. About 100 bodies were found dumped in four wells in the Chipeta region of Bie province near Cuito. There is still no sign of the expected dry-season offensive by government forces.
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 to assess the implementation of the latest economic reforms. The ten-day trip by a technical mission is led by Paul Newhouse, who visited Angola in April. In particular, exchange rate policy and transparency in oil revenues have posed obstacles to IMF participation in the country. However, the current Finance Minister, Joaquim David, and the Governor of the Bank of Angola, Aguinaldo Jaime, have an increasingly high reputation in financial circles for their handling of the recent financial crisis which saw the government's budget shrink by a third in a short space of time as oil prices plummeted. The UN has announced that it is to open a liaison office in Luanda comprised of 30 people.