Angola: SAVIMBI IS DEAD

Angolan rebel leader Jonas Savimbi fought until the very end, say officers who have been describing their final gun battle with the man who spent most of the last 40 years in armed conflict.

Brigadier Wala, who headed the army unit that killed Savimbi, told the Portuguese news agency Lusa he had died like a soldier, "with a gun in his hand".

The 67-year-old Unita leader was killed on Friday alongside 21 of his bodyguards on the banks of the Luvuei River in the eastern province of Moxico, he said.

Savimbi had not been easy to catch. He had tried to lay false scents with "diversionary manoeuvres such as crossing various rivers, including the Luvuei and the Luonze".

The army caught up with him, Brigadier Wala said, after killing two of his most senior officers, Brigadier Mbule and General "Big Joy".

The latter's death was a serious setback, as it deprived Savimbi of diversionary troops who had until then concentrated on attracting attention away from their leader.

Savimbi was further weakened when he "lost important means of communication" by radio.

"Savimbi decided to rest. Confident, as always, he had nonetheless placed his units on alert," Brigadier Wala said.

"Too late, we had already surprised them. He fought back with gunfire, and that's why he was killed," said Brigadier Wala.

"He tried to resist with his gun, but then he was dead."

Buried under a tree

Savimbi was shot a total of 15 times - once in the throat, twice in the head, and the rest in the chest, legs and arms.

The army offensive was dubbed Kissonde, named after a violent ant, state media said.

One of his four wives, Catarina, was captured and is in hospital in Luena, the capital of Moxico Province.

Savimbi is reported to have been buried on Saturday in the village of Lucusse, about 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) south-east of the capital, Luanda, under a tree near where he was killed.

Text of the statement by the Angolan Government announcing the death of veteran Unita rebel leader, Jonas Savimbi.

The government of the Republic of Angola confirms and informs the national and international public opinion of the death of Jonas Malheiro Savimbi, who to date led the armed groups responsible for the destruction of the infrastructures and the death of innocent civilians throughout the country.

The government of the Republic of Angola appeals to all those, that voluntarily or involuntarily, were associated to these terrorist practices to reconsider their options and reintegrate themselves in the normal life of the country, contributing in this way to the consolidation of the democratisation and national reconciliation process.

At an appropriate time and after taking into account the signs that we will receive from those who still want to continue with the war, the government will be issuing a communiqué containing a detailed programme to cease all hostilities in Angola.

The government reiterates its intention to completely implement the Lusaka Protocol and also considers that all Angolan political parties are essential for Angola's democratisation.

The government of the Republic of Angola appeals to the entire nation to remain calm and tranquil, respecting law and order, particularly the right to differences and peaceful co-existence of all Angolans.

The government once again lauds the Angolan Armed Forces, the National Police, the Civil Defence and the intelligence community for its performance, dedication and courage with which it has carried out its mission of defending the national territory, the security of the populations' lives and the protection of the public infrastructures as well as the citizens' possessions.

Savimbi was born in Munhango, Angola, when it was still a colony of Portugal. He spent his childhood in southern Angola among the Ovimbundu people, the country's largest ethnic group. Unlike many Angolan children, Savimbi was able to attend school, where he excelled. In 1958 he earned a scholarship to study at the University of Lisbon in Portugal. At first, Savimbi planned to become a doctor, but his interests soon changed to political science. During two years in Portugal, Savimbi was detained three times by the Portuguese secret police. He fled to Switzerland and graduated from Lausanne University in 1965 with a degree in political science.
Savimbi was educated at a time when African nationalists throughout the continent were demanding an end to colonialism. Many European countries loosened their political control over their colonies. Portugal, however, increased its control over Angola, actively repressing nationalist leaders.
Savimbi had become involved in the movement to end Portuguese colonialism while he was a student in Angola. In Europe, Savimbi increased his political activism. He met members of the two most important political movements, the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and the Union of Angola People (UPA). The Portuguese secret police harassed Savimbi and detained him three times. He left Portugal for Switzerland in 1960.
In 1961 Savimbi joined the UPA and quickly rose to the rank of secretary general. He later helped create a new political movement, the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA). Toward the end of 1961, the MPLA launched a military offensive to end Portuguese colonial rule. Tensions within the various anti-Portuguese political movements increased. Savimbi and other political leaders fought over political beliefs and the best way to defeat the Portuguese.
Savimbi resigned from the FNLA in 1964 and traveled throughout Eastern Europe and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). He went to China in 1965 where he received military training from the Chinese government.
In 1966 Savimbi returned to Angola and founded the multiethnic UNITA movement, which soon began armed attacks against Portuguese rule in Angola. Leaders of the MPLA, FNLA, and Savimbi's UNITA argued over the political future of the country. War with the Portuguese continued through 1974, when the government in Portugal was overthrown, and the Portuguese colonial empire began to disintegrate. Colonial rule in Angola ended in 1975.
Under the terms of the treaty granting independence to Angola, UNITA was to be part of the new independent Angolan government with the MPLA and the FNLA. With independence in 1975, however, tensions among the three movements erupted into armed conflict. The MPLA drove UNITA out of the Angolan capital of Luanda, and civil war followed.
The MPLA received arms from the USSR and troops from the Communist nation of Cuba. UNITA had internal support from the Ovimbundu people in southern Angola, and they received financial and military aid from South Africa and from the Western nations, particularly the United States. The United States saw the conflict in Angola as part of the Cold War, the post-1945 economic and diplomatic struggle between the USSR and its allies and the United States and its allies. Despite Savimbi's past associations with Communist regimes, the United States saw Savimbi and UNITA as less threatening than the MPLA, since Savimbi advocated an Angolan economy based more on free-market principles than the economy supported by the Soviet-backed MPLA government.
The civil war between UNITA and the Angolan government led by President José Eduardo dos Santos continued into the 1990s. Soviet military advisers and 50,000 Cuban soldiers helped the MPLA government counter United States and South African aid for UNITA guerrillas. In August 1988 Angola, South Africa, and Cuba had signed a peace treaty that called for the removal of all South African and Cuban troops from Angola. However, UNITA was not part of the agreement and kept fighting. Although the U.S. government continued to provide aid to UNITA, it increasingly urged Savimbi to seek a diplomatic solution.
In 1991 Savimbi began negotiations with the Angolan government while the civil war continued. These negotiations led to democratic elections in 1992, but the elections failed to stop the fighting. Savimbi pursued both diplomatic negotiations and armed confrontation, which increased, especially in northern Angola near the oil reserves in the Cabinda exclave. In 1993 in an attempt to end the civil war, the United States and other nations withdrew support for Savimbi's faction..


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