Shooting incident prompts UN emergency relief flights to abort mission in Angola

The World Food Programme (WFP) has suspended all cargo flights in Angola pending investigation of a shooting incident involving two agency planes carrying relief food, a United Nations spokesman said today.

Spokesman Manoel de Almeida e Silva said the planes were carrying 17 tonnes of maize to Kuito when one pilot saw an explosion in the air, which he identified as a missile. The incident occurred 20 nautical miles from Kuito, which WFP says has only six days worth of food left to feed an increasing number of internally displaced persons.

The spokesman said only one of the aircraft, which were forced to return to Catumbela, bore WFP markings. However, this flight has been occurring on a daily basis. This is the second such incident reported by WFP in recent weeks.