Angolan bishop taken captive

THE Archbishop of Lubango, six missionary sisters and 15 Red Cross officials have recently disappeared in Angola, according to the Angolan News Agency.
After visiting Chiulo Hospital on October 15, Archbishop Alexandre de Nascimento and the sisters, including one French and one West German nun, left for the Catholic Mission at Mongua in the Kunene province of southern Angola.
Church sources in Lubango report that the mission was surrounded by armed men on October 15 and that the Archbishop, the nuns and the Red Cross vehicle they were travelling in were taken away.
South African forces now operate on a permanent footing in southern Angola, in cooperation with the rebel UNITA organisation.
Radio South Africa announced on October 25 a UNITA claim that the Archbishop and nuns will be released.
In the same week, 15 Angolan employees of the International Committee of the Red Cross were kidnapped in the same province. The International Red Cross in Geneva claim that UNITA is also responsible for this abduction.