Aircraft shot down in Angola?

[warrior161]

Do anyone have more info on the A/C that was shot down in Angola? I would really appreciate it if anybody can give more info on that horrible events.

I can't understand why they would shoot down UN aircraft that actually help them to survive!! That is abselutely ridiculous!!!!!

Thanks very much.

[Airways Ed]

This is from BBC, believe it was Transafrik.


A United Nations aircraft carrying food aid for displaced people in Angola was struck this morning by a suspected missile, in the east of the country.

A spokeswoman for the World Food Programme said the aircraft was struck by a suspected missile at an altitude of 5,000 metres, as it approached the town of Luena.

One engine was damaged, but the pilot managed to regain control and land the plane safely.

Flights suspended

The aircraft, a Boeing 727 with a crew of three on board, had been carrying food aid for displaced people in Moxico province.

The spokeswoman said it would not be possible to distinguish the plane's WFP markings at such an altitude, so it could not be assumed that the organisation was being deliberately targetted.

Guerrilla attacks make road transport impossible in most parts of Angola, and hundreds of thousands of displaced people are dependent on food aid which has to be delivered by air.

The WFP says it has sufficient food stocks in Luena for the next few weeks.

It has suspended cargo flights to the area while it investigates whether the plane was indeed hit by a missile.

If this is confirmed, it will be the first such attack on a WFP plane in Angola in two years.

Fighting

The incident follows a month in which Unita guerrillas have made repeated attacks on the ground, many of them in areas throughout the country which were previously considered safe.

On Thursday morning, the rebels struck the town of Namacunde in the extreme south of Angola, killing three people and sending hundreds fleeing over the border to Namibia.

But at the same time, Unita and government leaders have begun hinting at the possibility of peace talks.

Analysts have interpreted the recent Unita attacks as a way of putting pressure on the government, so as to enable the rebel movement to negotiate from a position of strength.

[putco]

Time to spare another moment for Hilton and Johnnie........

What's the bet the UN do absolutely nothing about this one as well.

[4granted]

This from the UN News Agency IRIN.


ANGOLA: UN condemns attack on aid plane

JOHANNESBURG, 11 June (IRIN) - The World Food Programme and the United
Nations humanitarian coordination office in Angola have "vehemently"
repudiated an attack on Friday by "ground fire" on a food aid aircraft, a
joint statement said.

The chartered aircraft, painted white and clearly marked with WFP insignia,
was hit at 15,000 feet, some 18 km from the eastern Angolan town of Luena as
it began a spiral descent towards the town's airstrip. Nobody was killed in
the attack in which a missile - presumably fired by UNITA rebels - hit the
Boeing 727 but failed to explode. The crew were able to land safely.

"This unprovoked act of violence demonstrates the level of personal danger -
both in the manner of direct and indiscriminate fire - faced by humanitarian
personnel working to deliver aid to the country's most vulnerable
population," the statement said. It called on "both sides of the Angolan
conflict to respect the neutrality of humanitarian delivery in the country."
Luena, the provincial capital of Moxico, is one of several Angolan towns
that can only be reached by air.

A South African security analyst, with links to UNITA, told IRIN on Monday
that the presumably shoulder-fired missile was either "an extremely lucky
shot or a very good operator". He, however, foresaw increased attacks
against aircraft flying into Luena, as both UNITA and government forces gear
up for a new round of intensified fighting.

The government army (FAA) is preparing for an offensive in Moxico in an
attempt to find and destroy UNITA's "command and control structures", the
analyst said. At the same time, UNITA has expanded its guerrilla operations
to target - apart from its traditional central highlands heartland - Kuanza
Norte and Bengo in the north, the home regions of Angola's political elite.
It is also threatening the supply route from Namibia to Lubango in the
southeast. The government, meanwhile, is expected to try and relieve the
military pressure around Uige and Malanje in the north, the source said.

The renewed fighting is related to the "inevitability" of a new round of
peace talks, as both sides aim to strengthen their hand at the negotiating
table, the analyst said. He added that although he was "cautiously
optimistic" that a campaign for church-led mediation would eventually result
in a truce, "we will see an intensification of the war in the short term
that will lead to more casualties".

[MrNosy]

Some unconfirmed report suggests that, despite the press reports, it was a 'normal' ie not SAM induced, uncontained engine failure. Anyone know any more. Anyone seen the damage?

[4granted]

ANGOLA: UNITA admit attacking Boeing

UNITA rebels said they attacked a Boeing 727 plane over eastern Angola last
week, but stopped short of admitting they were responsible for a missile
strike on a WFP chartered aircraft in the region, AFP reported on Tuesday.
"Around 11 o'clock, one of our aerial defence teams launched a missile
against a Boeing 727 that was landing at the Luena airport," a UNITA
statement issued in Lisbon was quoted as saying.

WFP and the United Nations humanitarian coordination office in Angola said
in a joint statement on Monday that they "vehemently" repudiated the attack.
"This unprovoked act of violence demonstrates the level of personal danger -
both in the manner of direct and indiscriminate fire - faced by humanitarian
personnel working to deliver aid to the country's most vulnerable
population," the statement said.

The chartered aircraft, painted white and clearly marked with WFP insignia,
was hit at 15,000 feet, some 18 km from the eastern Angolan town of Luena as
it began a spiral descent towards the town's airstrip. Nobody was killed in
the attack in which the missile failed to explode. The crew were able to
land safely.

Off course UNITA dont beifit from all this food distibution.....