Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Jonas Savimbi: Angola's former Unita leader reburied after 17 years
Source: BBC
Jonas Savimbi: Angola's former Unita leader reburied after 17 years
1 June 2019
The former leader of Angola's Unita rebel group, Jonas Savimbi, is being reburied 17 years after his death.
Thousands of former Unita fighters wearing white T-shirts emblazoned with images of Savimbi attended the ceremony in his home village of Lopitanga.
His 2002 death brought an end to one of Africa's longest civil wars.
His remains were finally handed over to his family on Friday following confusion earlier in the week.
Unita says the funeral ceremony will be an important step towards national reconciliation in the oil-rich nation.
-snip-
Angola was a Cold War battleground, with the US and apartheid South Africa backing Unita, while the governing MPLA received support from the former Soviet Union and Cuba.
-snip-
1 June 2019
The former leader of Angola's Unita rebel group, Jonas Savimbi, is being reburied 17 years after his death.
Thousands of former Unita fighters wearing white T-shirts emblazoned with images of Savimbi attended the ceremony in his home village of Lopitanga.
His 2002 death brought an end to one of Africa's longest civil wars.
His remains were finally handed over to his family on Friday following confusion earlier in the week.
Unita says the funeral ceremony will be an important step towards national reconciliation in the oil-rich nation.
-snip-
Angola was a Cold War battleground, with the US and apartheid South Africa backing Unita, while the governing MPLA received support from the former Soviet Union and Cuba.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-48483246
Jonas Savimbi, known as the "black rooster", was an extremely divisive figure (AFP)
