afrol News, 7 March - An open gun fire near the residence of the leader of the National Union for Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) has developed into a quarrel between the UNITA ex-rebel opposition and the ruling Movement for Popular Liberation of Angola (MPLA). The two sides agreed to bury their 27-year-old civil war in 2002.

But the new row has shaken most Angolans who fear there might be a recurrence of civil strife in the country. Over 500,000 Angolans lost their lives in the long civil war.

On the night of 2 March, Angolan police fired shots at a place in Kwanza Norte province where the UNITA President, Isaias Samakuva, was on tour. And according to UNITA officials, their leader was nearly assassinated because three of the ten fired shots landed few metres from their leader's room.

An executive member of UNITA, Alcides Sakala, blamed the MPLA government for downplaying what he called a worrying development in a country that is going fast in repairing the damage caused by the war.

The party's political commission members said the fired gunshots, that also hit the walls of the UNITA headquarters, came from the nearby Action Committee of the MPLA who targeted to assassinate Mr Samakuva.

However, the MPLA leadership rubbished the UNITA claims, describing them as unfounded and groundless because authorities of the province and other sources could not confirm that the shots emanated from the MPLA committee.

MPLA's Kwata Kanawa challenged UNITA officials to provide evidence at an existing government/UNITA bilateral mechanism political concert. The government asked Angolans to maintain calm as they wait for the outcome of the ongoing police investigation into the case.

Angola held its first-ever multi-party elections in 1992, but they could not be completed because of a war.

Since the end of war, both MPLA and UNITA have agreed to wait with elections until reconstruction allows for it. But the country is now set to hold presidential polls in 2009. Angolans will choose their lawmakers next year in an election.

By staff writer

© afrol News

Related pages and feature

Current afrol News Top Stories