United Nations Warns of Humanitarian Crisis in Angola

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, February 14, 2002

United Nations Warns of Humanitarian Crisis in Angola

A senior U.N. official on Wednesday warned of grave and shocking humanitarian crisis in Angola, where the civil war has created "one of the largest displaced populations in the world."

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A senior U.N. official on Wednesday warned of grave and shocking humanitarian crisis in Angola, where the civil war has created "one of the largest displaced populations in the world."

Kenzo Oshima, U.N. under-secretary-general for emergency affairs, told an open Security Council meeting that "humanitarian conditions in Angola are among of the worst in the world."

"The Angolan war has also created one of the largest displaced populations in the world; since 1999, the total number of displaced has doubled from two million to over four million," he said. "This means that almost one third of the country's entire 12 million people are displaced."

The southwest African nation has experienced civil war since independence from Portugal in 1975. Angola ranks the 146th in the U.N. Development Program human development index out of 162 countries, he said.

"Life expectancy is 44 years and 63 percent of all households live below the poverty line," he said.

"The status of children is catastrophic: 30 percent of all children die before reaching the age of five," he said. "An estimated 100,000 children have been separated from their families and evidence indicates that child soldiers are once again being forced to fight in the country's ruinous civil war."

Meanwhile, Oshima blamed the warring parties for the underlying causes of the displacement of people. The rebel National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) fighters continue to raid villages, while soldiers of the Angolan army have been forcibly removing villagers in an attempt to cut off the rebels' access to food, reports said.

"Primary victims are civilians who increasingly find themselves caught up in the middle of UNITA attacks and the government's counter insurgencies strategy," he said. "The net result has been a rapid increase in displacement and human deprivation."

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