(3 Jan 1999) English/Nat
The United Nations says it gave the Angolan government and rebels prior notice of the flight plan for a U-N-chartered cargo plane that was shot down over rebel-held territory.
The C-130 aircraft, with eight people aboard, was hit by anti-aircraft fire 20 minutes after it took off from the city of Huambo on Saturday (Jan 2).
There was no word on survivors.
It was the second U-N-chartered plane to be shot down in the central highland war zone in eight days.
All United Nations flights over Angola have now been halted.
The plane was carrying four Angolans, two Filipinos, an American and a Namibian.
Four of those aboard were crew members, three were from the United Nations and another was working for the World Food Program.
The plane, painted with the U-N colours, had already completed one trip between Huambo and the capital, Luanda, earlier on Saturday (January 2).
It was on a second trip to pull U-N staff and equipment out of the government-held city, which was shelled by advancing rebel forces last week.
The plane, chartered from the TransAfric company, was headed to Luanda.
After it was hit, the aircraft tried to return to Huambo, but crashed about 80 kilometres (50 miles) outside the city in an area controlled by UNITA.
Another U-N-chartered C-130 with 14 people aboard - including eight U-N peacekeepers - crashed in the same area on December 26th, while flying over an area of fighting between the government army and rebels.
Issa Diallo, head of the United Nations observer mission in Angola, said on Sunday (January 3) that he believed that plane also was shot down.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"This is in fact the second plane of the U-N shot down almost under the same circumstances as the first one from Huambo - a routine flight. We had eight people on board, four crew members. We still don't know practically what happened, except the fact that the plane was shot down by missiles. We, as for the first plane, we are in contact with the government to assist in inquiring about exactly what happened. We are doing the same with the UNITA leadership and we continue to hope that something will come out, that they will cooperate with us. But one should draw a conclusion that it is not normal to continue shooting at the U-N planes. Yesterday, they had in Huambo four flights from the government side - nothing happened. And two from W-F-P (World Food Programme) - nothing happened. The U-N plane asked for and got authorisation, takes off, and it was shot down. This is what we had. I think that this cannot continue. They cannot continue to assimilate U-N as an enemy - part of the Angolan war. They should stop it. I have been instructed by the secretary General, after consultation with the troop contributors yesterday in New York, to stop all our flights on Angola until further notice."
Question: Do you think this is personally directed against the U-N or its personnel. And what action is the U-N going to take now?
'We informed the government and (the rebel group) UNITA of the flight details - the flight path, the time, the number of people on board and the cargo."
SUPER CAPTION: Issa Diallo, head of the United Nations observer mission in Angola
The UN- mission, which is overseeing implementation of Angola's now-shattered 1994 peace accord, asked UNITA for clearance to go to the crash area but has not yet received a response.
UNITA officials were unavailable for comment on Sunday (Jan 3).
More than 100 U-N staff are still in Huambo.
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