The death toll from fierce clashes between Angolan government troops and Jonas Savimbi's UNITA opposition forces may be twice the 1,200 reported until now, according to Portuguese media in Luanda.
The Portuguese state news agency Lusa said more than 1,000 people were killed in Luanda alone and at least that many had died in five days of fighting in Lobito, to the south, where U.N. officials helped secure a halt to hostilities Wednesday.Half the estimated 22,000 men mobilized by UNITA (Union for the Total Independence of Angola) in the past week's violence may have been routed, dispersed or captured, Lusa said.
But UNITA has occupied the town of Caxito north of Luanda since Tuesday, and its forces are poised to attack other towns. It was also reported to have kidnapped 20 Brazilians and 50 Russians working on a dam project in eastern Angola.
Luanda itself has returned to near normality since Monday's U.N.-brokered cease-fire there. Portuguese television showed busy traffic and frantic shopping, but charred and mutilated corpses and burnt-out vehicles dotted the shattered streets.
Portuguese officials confirmed direct contacts between Savimbi and the ruling MPLA . A captured UNITA general said Savimbi was willing to travel to Luanda to meet President Jose Ed-uar-do dos Santos.
But the chief U.N. representative in Angola, Britain's Margaret Anstee, has not yet managed to set up peace talks. The MPLA is demanding an unconditional total cease-fire, demobilization of all UNITA fighters and acceptance of the election results.
The September election gave the MPLA a landslide victory and U.N. observers judged it to be fair, but Savimbi rejected the outcome, withdrew to his stronghold in the central highland city of Huambo and pulled out of the newly formed joint armed forces.
The European Community said Wednesday it would hold "any party which obstructs the peace process" responsible.
But Washington, which backed Savimbi in the 16-year civil war that ended with last year's peace accord, urged the MPLA to free all members of UNITA and other opposition parties that the government says it is holding to protect them from lynching.
UNITA demanded condemnation of the killing of many of its top commanders, including Savimbi's right-hand man and nephew, Salupeto Pena, and Vice President Jeremias Chitunda.
Angolan diplomats in Lisbon said the two were killed trying to flee Luanda after taking a British couple hostage.