-Caveat Lector- http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=worldnews&StoryID=624301
WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War! Angola Government Says UNITA's Savimbi Killed February 22, 2002 05:11 PM ET Email this article Printer friendly version Reuters Photo By Justin Pearce LUANDA (Reuters) - Angolan UNITA rebel leader Jonas Savimbi, who battled the Luanda government for decades in one of Africa's longest-running wars, was killed in a clash with government troops on Friday, Angolan state media reported. "In Moxico province, Jonas Malheiro Savimbi died in combat," Angolan national radio said. An Angolan presidential spokesman told a Portuguese radio station that government forces had Savimbi's body and planned to display it. A source close to UNITA, contacted in Lisbon, had no immediate comment on the report. Savimbi was the founding father of UNITA, which he says was born as an army of "12 people with knives," leading the rebel movement since 1966. Fighting in the former Portuguese colony in southwestern Africa has dragged on since 1975 and claimed an estimated one million lives. Presidential spokesman Aldemiro de Conceicao, quoting a statement by the Angolan government and armed forces, said Savimbi was killed at about 3 p.m. (8 a.m. EST) in east-central Angola Asked in an interview with private TSF radio if Savimbi was dead, he said: "I confirm it. In fact, the government just released a statement confirming the death of Jonas Savimbi, which occurred today at 3 p.m. in the province of Moxico. "We had a problem that just now has been removed," he added. The Angolan armed forces said Savimbi, 67, was killed "as a result of a clash that occurred with a column that he was a part of," de Conceicao said. Joao Laurenco, secretary-general of the ruling MPLA party told state television that Savimbi had "chosen his own destiny." An unofficial UNITA contact in Lisbon, Rui Oliveira, said: "We are waiting for our forces in the interior to get in contact with us, only after that can we talk." UNITA is an acronym for the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola. BODY TO BE DISPLAYED De Conceicao said the armed forces had Savimbi's body and planned to display it in the next few hours. "Certainly, we are going to display Savimbi's body for photographs," he said. The report of Savimbi's death comes as the United Nations tries to revive peace talks between Luanda's government and Savimbi's forces. The Luanda government, which had been Marxist but has embraced market principles, has reported several defections or the capture of top UNITA officers in recent months. The stocky, ebullient son of a railway stationmaster, Savimbi studied medicine in Lisbon and political science in Switzerland. He left Europe in 1961 to fight Portuguese rule and formed UNITA. His forces and allies came close to controlling Angola in fighting after the end of Portuguese rule. However, the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola, backed by Cuban troops, swept through the country and won widespread recognition as the government of Angola. TSF reported that the streets of Luanda, the Angolan capital, were quiet. The Luanda police chief, Francisco Pestana, told Portugal's Lusa news agency that gunfire had been heard in the city, "but it is gunfire of joy." Portuguese state television RTP reported from Luanda that the government had appealed for calm. The government also said it could declare a nationwide cease-fire, RTP said. *COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. 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