Angola accuses S.A. of new incursion

Press, 29 October 1981, Page 8

Angola accuses S.A. of new incursion

NZPA-Reuter Lisbon The Angolan Defence Ministry yesterday accused South Africa of launching a new military attack against southern Angola to coincide with the presence of a fivenation Western negotiating team in Luanda, the Angola capital, Angola’s official news agency, Angop, quoted a Defence Ministry communique as saying South African forces were trying to capture the town of Cahama, 200 km north of the border with South African-controlled Namibia (South-West Africa). The Ministry said South African helicopter-borne troops landed within 2km of Cahama on Monday morning after the South African Air Force bombed Angolan positions in the area. A 15-member team from

the United States. Canada. France. Britain and West Germany had left Luanda earlier. During a 24-hour visit it held talks with the Angolan Government and the SouthWest Africa People’s Organisation guerrilla movement to seek support for the West’s latest proposals on Namibian independence. Diplomatic sources in Luanda’“said the team has secured Angolan support for the West’s latest proposals on independence for Namibia. They' said the Angolans had responded favourably to the proposals during a long meeting chaired by President Jose Eduardo dos Santos. But a senior West European diplomat in Luanda said it was still too early to speak of a breakthrough in the dispute over the former

German colony, where Ango-lan-backed S.W.A.P.O. guerrillas have fought South African rule for 15 years. Angop quoted Mr dos Santos as saying that all sides in the conflict now had an opportunity to work out a just solution to the territory's future.

Angop quoted the head of the French delegation, Jean Husseil, as saying on behalf of the whole mission that its talks in Luanda had been very useful. Sam Nujoma. the head of S.W.A.P.O. said that he was willing to sign- a cease-fire agreement with South Africa to enable a United Nations force to be set up in Namibia. This would be within the framework of the United Nations Security Council resolution on the territory's independence.