Angola's Cabinda Separatists Say Fresh Clashes Killed 12

Luanda, June 3 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 4th Jun, 2020 ) :At least 12 people have been killed in fresh clashes between the Angolan military and separatist fighters in the northern oil-rich province of Cabinda, a rebel group said Wednesday.

"Fighting resumed on Tuesday 2, June 2020 at 7 pm (1700 GMT) between the Cabinda Armed Forces (FAC) and the Angolan military... in the village of Chivovo, and resulted in the death of 12 people," the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC), said in a statement.

FLEC is the largest separatist movement in Cabinda, and has several factions, of which the FAC is the biggest.

It said the victims were four soldiers, two FAC members and six civilians.

An unnamed Angolan army official confirmed the clashes.

"The attacks took place against FAA (Angolan Armed Forces) bases around 8pm (on Tuesday)", the official told AFP.

FLEC said President Joao Lourenco's government had "ignored" calls by the United Nations "for an immediate ceasefire to better combat the Covid-19 pandemic".

Cabinda, a coastal exclave, has been rocked by a low-level separatist insurgency since it officially became part of Angola at independence from Portugal in 1975.

The FLEC-led struggle has been fuelled by anger over the government making huge profits over oil reserves.

Cabinda accounts for 60 percent of Angola's oil production.

The southwest African country is the continent's second-largest oil producer after Nigeria.