Patterns of Global Terrorism 1999 - Angola
| Publisher | United States Department of State |
| Author | Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism |
| Publication Date | 1 April 2000 |
| Cite as | United States Department of State, Patterns of Global Terrorism 1999 - Angola, 1 April 2000, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/4681073c23.html [accessed 8 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Insecurity continued to plague Angola in 1999. Angola's main guerrilla faction, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), committed several acts of international terrorism as a tactic in its decades-old insurrection. In January, UNITA guerrillas ambushed a vehicle, killing one British national, one Brazilian, and two Angolan security guards. On 10 February, UNITA rebels reportedly kidnapped two Portuguese and two Spanish nationals. The next day, UNITA rebels attacked the scout vehicle for a convoy of diamond mine vehicles, killing three Angolan security guards and wounding five others. Five Angolan citizens were killed on 14 April when unidentified assailants attacked a Save the Children vehicle in Salina. UNITA's bloodiest terrorist assault was the ambush of a German humanitarian convoy near Bocoio on 6 July. Guerrilla forces killed at least 15 persons and injured 25 others.
In addition to assaults on isolated vehicle convoys, UNITA attacked three civilian aircraft in 1999. On 13 May, UNITA rebels claimed they had shot down a privately owned plane and abducted three Russian crewmembers. UNITA again claimed responsibility for shooting down a private aircraft on 30 June. One of the five Russian crewmembers died when the aircraft crash landed near Capenda-Camulemba. Three weeks later, UNITA rebels fired mortars at an International Committee for the Red Cross aircraft parked at Huambo airport but caused no injuries or damage.
Cabinda Liberation Front separatists are believed responsible for the kidnapping in mid-March of one Angolan, two French, and two Portuguese oil workers in the northern enclave of Cabinda. In past years the separatists have taken hostages to earn ransom and to pressure the Angolan Government to relinquish control over the region.
