U.S. Expected to Back Angola Rebel Curbs

The United States will support new United Nations sanctions on Angola’s longtime rebel leader, Jonas Savimbi, and his UNITA movement, according to the Washington Post. The newspaper, quoting unidentified senior officials, said the Clinton administration also is prepared to sell military transport planes to the government. The sanctions--which U.S. officials expect to be imposed by the U.N. Security Council this week--and the possible aircraft sale reflects Washington’s exasperation with Savimbi. The U.S. holds him largely responsible for the growing tension in the African nation, the report said. The Security Council imposed an arms and oil embargo on Savimbi’s National Union for the Total Independence of Angola in 1993, but it has not been effective.