Angola to disarm civilians
2008-03-06 15:29
Luanda - The Angolan government will collect illegal weapons, mostly assault rifles that remain in civilian hands ahead of elections in September, the Angop state news agency reported on Thursday.
Opposition parties and civil groups have long voiced concern about going to the polls on September 5-6 while many guns remain in circulation.
The number of weapons is unknown but many AK-47 rifles were distributed among civilians by state agents in 1992 after failed elections which saw the country slide back into civil war.
Under Angolan law, only police and defence force members can now bear arms.
"These arms, when outside the control of the state, brings many negative consequences which discourage international investment and hinder important endeavours," Angop quoted Interior Minister Leal Monteiro as saying.
Collection would happen from March to August, starting with voluntary surrender of firearms and ending with criminal persecution of those who resisted.
Angola's 27 year civil war between the ruling Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) ended with a formal end to hostilities in April 2002.
The last elections took place in 1992 when former UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi stood against President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, but pulled out of a second round of voting after alleging widespread rigging.
- AFP