Fighting in rural areas and superior strategy and discipline give UNITA an advantage.

Some argue that a fallback goal of UNITA is to divide the country in a way in which UNITA could control a major port and many of the key diamond-producing areas.

This “war of dispossession,” according to the Grupo Angolano de Reflexao para a Paz (GARP, a civil society peace advocacy organization), “makes everybody vulnerable in the face of the power of the gun.” The war in Angola has raged for nearly forty years, whereas the average Angolan is only seventeen years old. Ironically, after what was supposed to be four years of an internationally supervised process of demobilization and disarmament backed by multilateral sanctions, UNITA now wants significant amendments to the Protocol--or a new agreement--to reflect its stronger position.After two bloody but unsuccessful offensives against Savimbi's headquarters in Andulo and Bailundo on the Planalto (central highlands), the government launched a new offensive in September 1999 aimed to liberate the triangle of Malange, Huambo, and Kuito from UNITA control. Hardliners within the government exclude any possibility of negotiating with Savimbi. Angola stands alone at the top of UNICEF's Child Risk Measure, which examines the risk of death, malnutrition, abuse, and development failure for children worldwide.The future development of the country is being mortgaged in exchange for weapons and for foreign currency, which often finds its way into private bank accounts. The international community, particularly the United States, should be on the margins of any unofficial effort, creating confidence and pressuring the parties for serious engagement.

He has twice gone back to war and halted tentative transitions. Search for experts, projects, publications, courses, and more.Despite a $1.5 billion peacekeeping operation and the tremendous potential a peacetime economy could unlock, Angola has descended back into Africa's most deadly war for the fourth time in the last four decades. For the future of the government's nationwide credibility, indiscriminate violence against civilians must be reduced, and a hearts-and-minds campaign must be instituted for real gains to be made. Angola is a country of extreme contradictions. Central Bank Governor Aguinaldo Jaime has liberalized exchange rates and is a strong, articulate advocate for further reforms. In its continuing game of musical chairs regarding resupply bases, UNITA now benefits from strong footholds in Burkina Faso and Togo, which replaced Congo-Brazzaville and Zaire after the Angolan government helped overthrow the governments there. - Sapa-APPlease visit the official Government information portal for Coronavirus by clicking Two expert panels under the direction of Sanctions Committee Chairman Robert Fowler (Canada's UN ambassador) began meeting in late August. These include:What to do with Savimbi is as much as anything the cause of the return to war in Angola.

Joao Laurenco, secretary general of Angola's ruling party, told me that the BCC can “help us to plan for Angola's future, to think beyond war.”For example, it is critical to attract broad-based internal and external investment beyond the oil and diamond sectors as a means to stabilize the economy and offer people an alternative path away from sectors dominated by the warring parties.

Or should the war option be played out in full, with the military defeat of UNITA--as elusive as that goal surely is--becoming the sole path to future stability? Many of UNITA's officers received only a few hundred dollars as part of the demobilization process.The quality of administration is a key element in assuring populations that choosing peace will provide a better life than remaining at war. The government also largely failed to integrate UNITA administrators, medical staff, teachers, and others into the newly extended administrative areas. The train hit two mines, derailed and burst into flames before guerrillas sprayed it with gunfire.The UN Security Council on Thursday strongly condemned the "terrorist attack" and reiterated its call on the rebels to engage seriously in the search for peace. Transparently targeting investments at these areas would build long-term confidence and help lay the groundwork for an alternative future beyond war.The government's announcement of a social and economic investment fund provides an opportunity to restructure internal investment and opportunity. (Despite 40 percent of the cabinet and nearly half of the army being from Ovimbundu areas, perceptions of discrimination still linger, fueled by UNITA rhetoric.) (11-15-1994) The United States should support quiet diplomatic efforts by civil society, particularly the churches, to promote dialogue.