United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has condemned the recent rebel attack in Angola that killed more than 150 people.
Mr. Annan says the UNITA rebel group has claimed, and therefore bears responsibility, for the derailment and attack on a train in northwest Angola last Friday. More than 150 people were killed and at least 140 injured in what appears to be the deadliest rebel attack since Angola's civil war resumed in 1998.
In a statement read by spokesman Manoel de Almeida e Silva, Mr. Annan called the attack "indefensible" and said it points to the need for a political settlement in Angola. "The Secretary-General continues to be very disturbed by the military and humanitarian situation in the country," he said. "This incident underlines the urgent need for a political settlement of the conflict to achieve durable peace and stability in Angola."
The office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees says recent fighting in northern Angola has driven a new wave of refugees into the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The United Nations Security Council has imposed several embargoes on the UNITA rebel group in Angola including a strict ban on weapons shipments. However, investigations by the Council's Sanctions Committee show that weapons continue to get through.