ANGOLA MASSES TROOPS FOR ASSAULT ON UNITA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000504570001-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 23, 2012
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: April 14, 1987
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sl Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/23: CIA-RDP90-00965R000504570001-3
ARTICLE ASS
ON PAGE L~,~-?
WASHINGTON TIMES
14 April 1987
Angola masses troops for
assault on UMTA
By James M. Dorsey
7 and James Morrison
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Soviet-backed Cuban and Angolan
troops are preparing for a massive offen-
stve a amst supporte re e s in
southern admini ration offi-
cials and intelligence analysts said Yes
ter ay.
They reported that hundreds of mili-
tary planes are shuttling military
equipment and Cuban and Angolan
troops to bases near the liberated zone
held by guerrillas of Jonas Savimbi's Na-
tional Union for the ibtal Independence
of Angola (UNITA).
"The Cubans are moving in large num-
bers from their bases in the north to the
south;' said one official.
"There are large-scale preparations
for a dry-season offensive:' said another,
adding that the offensive is expected to
begin at the end of this month or in early
May, depending on when the rains end.
The officials and analysts said UNITA
would be able to survive a slow and me-
thodical Soviet-backed drive into its ter-
ritory by dispersing and regrouping
later. If the rebels become too hard-
pressed; South Africa is likely to come to
their assistance - as it has before -
which could lead to a direct confronta-
tion with Cuban forces.
"There is a great potential for clashes
between the Cubans and the South Af-
ricans," one analyst said.
Administration officials estimate
there are 37,000 Cuban, 2,500 Soviet and
2,500 East German military personnel in
Angola. UNITA claims to have 62,000
men under arms.
A UNITA spokesman in Washington
said he was still awaiting confirmation of
she buildup from rebel headquarters in
Jamba, Angola. But the spokesman, Tito
Chingunji, said the Cubans are most
likely resupplying forces in Luso, in the
central portion of Angola, which is also
along the northern border of UNITA ter-
ritory.
He said the other supply point is
Menongue, a southern town near Cuito
Cuanavale, along a slice of government-
controlled land that points like a finger
into rebel land.
Luanda's troops occupy three other
towns in UNITA territory: Cazombo in
the northwest, Munhango in the east and
Lucusse in the north central portion.
Government forces captured Cazombo
in their last major offensive in late 1985.
But UNITA, with massive military assis-
tance from South Africa, routed Angolan
and Cuban troops when they tried to cap-
ture Mavinga, a strategic town near
Jamba.
Last year, UNITA foiled other govern-
ment attempts to launch a dry-season of-
fensive by attacking overextended sup-
ply lines, Mr. Chingunji said.
He said UNITA has prevented
government troops from moving beyond
the towns they occupy in rebel territory
by "pre-emptive attacks:'
"This has paid off up until now;" he
said. "They are beleaguered in Cazombo,
Luccuse and Munhango:'
UNITA officials recently have reiter-
ated their calls for a negotiated solution
to the conflict in a bid to avert the ex-
pected offensive. Earlier this month,
UNITA said it was willing to reopen the
Benguela railroad, a key trade route link-
ing Angola's Atlantic coast with
neighboring Zaire.
UNITA also has asked the Central In-
telligence Agency for increased assis-
tance to confront the onslaught. But the
ability of the United States to step up
materiel aid to the rebels may be subject ,
to severe budgetary constraints, the offi-
cials said.
Last year, Congress voted to give
UNITA $15 million in covert military sup-
port.
Intelligence analysts said the military
buildup in Angola may be an effort to
distract attention from the guerrilla war
against the Soviet occupation of
Afghanistan.
"The Soviets have in the past coordi-
nated their initiatives in various parts of
the world such as Angola and
Afghanistan;' one analyst said. "It would
be very convenient for the Soviets to dis-
tract attention:' said another.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/23: CIA-RDP90-00965R000504570001-3