Angola's army called Monday for rebels in the eastern province of Mexico to give up their arms and turn themselves in, after a months-long army offensive in the region.
The leadership of the army's 11th regiment said in the statement, broadcast by radio, that if the rebels surrendered the army would allow them into the ranks of government forces or help them rejoin civil society.
The broadcast included a statement from an unidentified man who said he was a former rebel of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). The man said he was psychologically ready to fight against his former leader, Jonas Savimbi.
Violence has raged in Mexico since August, when the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) launched a campaign against UNITA rebels in the province.
Angola's army claims it has recently retaken the town of Cazombo and the surrounding villages of Calunda, Caripande, Lova and Cavungo in Mexico.
The region is strategically important because it borders the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia. Angola's government believes that UNITA uses territory in both countries as a staging ground for attacks.
Angola has repeatedly accused Zambia of helping UNITA, a claim Zambia denies.
On Friday, the government daily Jornal de Angola cited a senior military commander who said the Angolan army could fight UNITA rebels in Zambia by invoking the right of hot pursuit.
Angola's army has successfully driven UNITA out of former strongholds in central Angola, and is now fighting the rebels in southern and eastern regions -- LUANDA (AFP)
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