The Front for the Liberation of the State of Cabinda – Armed Forces of Cabinda (FLEC-FAC) today claimed responsibility for the death of four soldiers of the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) in the Buco-Zau region, Cabinda.
In a statement, the armed wing of the independence movement in Cabinda indicates that the four soldiers were killed early this morning when an FAA patrol ran into a group of FLEC-FAC fighters in the Micuma area, in the region of Buco-FAC.Zau.
“FLEC/FAC collected the bodies of the four dead FAA soldiers, as well as recovered four AK-47 assault weapons,” the statement said.
FLEC/FAC reiterates that “Cabinda is a territory at war” and that the disinformation campaigns of the authorities linked to Luanda “endanger the lives of foreigners in the territory”.
“The Head of the Military House of the President of the Republic of Angola must report the truth to the international community about the security situation in the Portuguese Protectorate of Cabinda,” says FLEC/FAC, which demands that gold mining companies operating in the Buco-Zau region, in the Mongo Mbucuco area, “immediately stop your illegal activities”.
According to FLEC/FAC, the presence of these companies in Cabinda “is contrary to the prohibition of any exploitation in the Maiombe forest”, above all because “the circulation of any motorized vehicle in the Maiombe forest is strictly prohibited”.
The organization warns that “any presence of tractors and trucks, in the present and in the future, illegally authorized by Angolans, will be severely sanctioned”.
It certainly warns that any vehicle escorted by Angolan troops will be a military target for FLEC/FAC forces.
“We cannot guarantee the safety of those who exploit our wealth. Cabinda is a war zone even though we don’t have media coverage”, concludes FAC Lieutenant General Ricardo Danda wa Danda.
For several years, the FLEC has been fighting for the independence of the territory, where a large part of Angolan oil comes from, alleging that the enclave was a Portuguese protectorate –as established in the Treaty of Simulambuco, signed in 1885– and not an integral part part of Angolan territory
The Angolan government normally refuses to acknowledge the existence of soldiers killed as a result of guerrilla actions by the independence fighters, or any situation of instability in that province in the north of Angola, always underlining the unity of the territory.
Source: Observadora
