Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Luanda (Fides Service)- Yesterday 8 September on a dirt road leading from Mussuco, Cuango district, to the border with Congo, 16 people, Angolan policemen and illegal Congolese immigrants, were killed in a road accident. Fides’ local sources report.
The illegal immigrants had been arrested days before in Cafunfo and Luremo. After being detained at Luremo police station they were on a military truck on the way to the border, which at that point is the River Tunguila.
This was part of stage two of operation Diamond started by the Angolan authorities on July 15 (see Fides 15 and 23 July 2004). For a whole month police clamped down on foreign illegal diamond buyers, mostly from Senegal and Mali. During the last two weeks of August a national police commission visited “diamond” towns in Lunda Norte, Cuango and Capenda Camulemba, where they removed and replaced commanding officers of the different police forces: border, finance, public order, immigration, who seemed powerless to stop illegal immigration of hundreds of thousands of people from Congo who continue to flock to sites of illegal diamond mining despite a massive expulsion operation in April and May this year.
During the last two weeks of August officials from the Congolese consulate in Angola went to the mining centres of Cuango and Capenda, to talk with Congolese settlers, 99% illegal immigrants who had come to Lunda Norte to mine and trade diamonds illegally. At the same time police from various branches backed by two helicopters and under the command of a commission from Luanda, inspected the "garimpos", sites where diamonds are mined, along the rivers Cuango, Lue, Lulo and Cacuilo. The police confiscated mining tools and told all the garimpeiros, Angolan and Congolese, to gather at Cafunfo, Muxinda, Cuango, Xamikelengue.
In those towns during the night of September 5 anti-riot police and public order police began arresting illegal immigrants. At local police stations in the presence of officials from the Congolese consulate, the immigrants were identified put on trucks and sent to the border. The situation of respect for human rights with regard to illegal immigrants would seem to be an improvement compared to May when they were beaten, raped and robbed of their belongings. The operation is less hasty and more organised and the number of daily arrests is restricted to the number which the police station can deal with. The Congolese citizens arrested in Cafunfo are taken by truck to Luremo, direction north east, and from there to Mussuco and the Tunguila River, which marks the border between Angola and Congo. It was along this road that the tragic road accident occurred. Many people were injured and taken to hospital in Cafunfo where they being treated. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 9/9/2004 righe 43 parole 527)
