July 2001 Africa News Headlines

Wednesday, July 18, 2001 - Web posted at 9:17:39 GMT

Unita kill 70 people in diamond area

LUANDA - Rebels have killed 70 people and wounded 15 in an attack in diamond-rich northeast Angola, the Portuguese news agency Lusa said yesterday.

Lusa said the attack occurred in the diamond-mining town of Chinguvu in Lunda Norte province, which lies on the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.

"About 100 gunmen were involved in the Saturday assault on a residential area of Chinguvu," Lusa said, citing an unnamed military source.

A woman who survived the attack told Lusa the area had not been protected by government soldiers for years.

The military source said the rebel National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (Unita) was responsible for the attack.

Unita has waged a civil war against the Luanda government since the southwest African country's independence from Portugal in 1975. - Nampa-Reuters

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