UNITA's operations have been numerous in the past few years, including armed attacks, kidnapping and sabotage [Louyot A. "Angola: SOS Occident" L'Express, 25 September 1987, pp. 18-20.]. Government retaliation was equally severe, mostly through arrests and armed clashes with the rebels [Ibid.].

At the end of 1988, UNITA proposed an immediate cease-fire and direct negotiations with the government ["L'UNITA propose des négociations directes" La Presse, 16 December 1988, p. C8.]. Although a peace agreement between rebels and government forces was signed in December 1988, the combats and widespread civil war violence resumed in January 1989 [Brooke J. "Angola Strife Rages Around Phantom City" The New York Times, 19 January 1989, p.A3.]. Around 19 January 1989, the second most important city of Angola, Huambo, became the target of intense fighting [Bole-Richard M. "L'Angola, meurtri et exsangue..." Le Monde hebdomadaire, 19-25 January 1989, p.2.]. Later in the month, the government proposed an amnesty and an immediate cease-fire, which was followed by an UNITA communiqué stating the rebels' intentions to launch a major offensive across Angola [ Brooke J. "Surge Announced by Angola Rebels" The New York Times, 3 February 1989, p.A9.]. The amnesty still went into effect, and a few UNITA prisoners were released from prison at the beginning of February 1989 ["9 Rebels Walk Out of Prison as Angola's Amnesty Begins" The New York Times, 5 February 1989, p.18.]. UNITA continued its offensive, however, and attacked electricity lines around Luanda, thus creating a major blackout in the capital ["Angola: Luanda privée d'électricité par l'UNITA" Le Monde, 10 February 1989, p.51.].

In mid-March 1989, UNITA's leader, Jonas Savimbi proposed a suspension of military offensives for a 4-month period in order to allow for diplomatic negotiations on civil war to take place ["Angolan Rebels Announce Lull in Offensives" Globe and Mail, 14 March 1989, p.A4.]. In April 1989, however, government troops killed 40 UNITA rebels in the provinces of Benguela, Huambo, Bié and Huila, whereas UNITA fighters killed 5 to 19 Angolan soldiers (the range varies according to UNITA or Angolan Press Agency's estimates) in the Uige and Bié areas ["Rebelles tués en Angola" Le Devoir, 14 April 1989, p.5.].

In early June 1989, UNITA leadership proposed the formation of a "National Unity" government in order to prepare free elections in Angola, to be held in 1991 under the supervision of the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity ["Angola: l'Unita propose un gouvernement d'"unité nationale"" Le Devoir, 3 June 1989, p.A5.]. In late June, Jonas Savimbi, subject to increased pressure from his American allies, agreed to a cease-fire and negotiations with the government [Pear R. "Calling Off the Fight for Angola" The New York Times, 25 June 1989, p.E3.]. Peace talks started in Kinshasa on 28 June 1989 and continued all through July ["Angola: après l'entrée en vigueur du cessez-le-feu, les négociations de paix s'annoncent difficiles" Le Monde, 30 June 1989, p.2; "L'Angola et l'UNITA reprennent le dialogue" Le Devoir, 17 July 1989, p.11; De Barrin J. "Angola: les aléas de la réconciliation nationale, difficiles retrouvailles entre "frères ennemis"" Le Monde, 19 July 1989.]. Later that month, UNITA was accused of having shot down a civilian aircraft, but the rebels denied their responsibility in the death of 42 passengers ["Angolan Rebels Down Plane, Kill 42" Globe and Mail, 26 July 1989, p.A5; l'UNITA nie avoir abattu l'Antonov-26" Le Soleil, 26 July 1989, P.A9.].

During the month of August 1989, more than 200 Angolan troops and 300 civilians were killed by UNITA rebels, according to government sources [Noble K.B. "Angola Says Rebels Are Mounting New Attacks, Jeopardizing Pact" The New York Times, 21 August 1989, p.A6.]. Despite agreements between UNITA and the government in summer 1989, widespread fighting resumed in the fall [Louyot A. "Savimbi: a luta continua!" L'Express, 15 September 1989.]. The situation in the Southeastern provinces deteriorated to such an extend that a major assault against rebel forces was launched by some 10,000 government troops in December 1989 [Smith S. "Angola: offensive gouvernementale contre l'Unita" Libération, 1 February 1990.]. The strategic UNITA stronghold of Mavinga was taken on 2 February 1990 [Smith S. "Angola: prise d'un bastion de l'Unita" Libération, 5 February 1990; "Angola: retour aux armes" Le Point, 5 February 1990.]. A "last chance" conference between the opponents was organized in Kinshasa on 7 February 1990 in order to refrain the bloodshed around Mavinga [Smith S. "Escalade militaire en Angola" Libération, 7 February 1990.].

23 October 1989

1989/10/00eSubject:

Angola.
Government's attitude towards nationals returning home after having left their country illegally.
From:

IRB Documentation Centre, Ottawa
Keywords:

national law / nationals / flight / unlawful departure / durable solutions / voluntary repatriation / Angola

Despite strict regulations on travel, Angolan refugees seeking refuge in other countries are not deprived of their nationality [Documentation-réfugiées, suppl. au no 1, "L'Angola", (Paris : Centre interassociatif francophone d'information et de documentation sur le droit d'asile et de réfugié, 12-15 mai 1987), p. 5 (attached).] The Angolan government is not reported as exerting reprisals against nationals who return home on a voluntary basis. The government has enacted legislation granting amnesty to those directly or indirectly involved in violence or subversion directed against the current government. [Documentation-réfugiés, supp. au no 61, "L'Angola, mise à jour", 5-14 janvier 1989, p. 2. ]

During the last ten years, a few thousand Angolan nationals have returned from Zaïre and hundreds have returned from Zambia. [Documentation-réfugiés, Supplément au no 1, "L'Angola", 12-25 mai 1987, p. 1.] In 1989, a total of 400 out of 22,500 refugees were voluntarily repatriated from Zaïre under the auspices of the UN High Commissionner for Refugees (UNHCR) and a further 2,500 are schedules to be repatriated during a three week operation. ["Refugees in Zaire, Zairians Repatriated"'Foreign Broadcast Information Service, ANGOP [Luanda, in Portuguese], (FBIS-AFR-89-192), 5 october 1989, p. 22.]

The IRBDC has no further corroborating publicly available sources on this subject at this time.