Angolan civil war threatens to spill over southern border

Unita rebels in Angola have threatened to take their war into neighbouring Namibia after it offered to provide military support to the government in Luanda.

The warning raises fears that Angola's long civil war could spill across its borders and further undermine a tottering peace treaty in Congo, where nine countries, including Angola and Namibia as well as Unita, have been fighting.

The threat comes amid a renewed government assault that has sent Jonas Savimbi's rebel force reeling. The Angolan army has driven Unita out of its central highland headquarters and forced it to retreat towards the country's eastern and southern borders. It has also moved on the diamond fields that have funded Unita's weapons purchases to the tune of an £3bn over the past decade.

The latest attacks are concentrated on Unita's supply lines. This threatens to take the war not only into Namibia but also Zambia.

A sharp rise in the number of refugees is a clear indication of the scale of the conflict. Several thousand Angolans have fled their country this week after fighting near the Caprivi strip, a sliver of land belonging to Namibia. There has also been heavy fighting along the Zambian border with reports of at least one Zambian village being bombed by Angolan government forces.

Unita's threat to move across the frontier came after Namibia said it was ready to offer military aid to its Angolan allies.

The chief of staff of the Namibian army, Major General Martin Shalli, said his government "would not hesitate" to give the go-ahead for Angolan forces to attack Unita from Namibian soil".

He said the government already allowed the Angolan air force to refuel on its territory. But he denied his troops were backing Luanda's army. "We're not in Angola, we have no troops in Angola. But we are securing our borders," he said.

There have already been reports of minor Unita incursions into Namibia, including a grenade attack on a military post.

Last weekend, the presidents of Namibia, Congo and Zimbabwe met to discuss their future strategy in Congo and to express their "strong support for and active solidarity with the government and people of Angola" in their military offensive against Unita.

Western powers also appear increasingly willing to isolate Mr Savimbi. Britain's foreign office minister, Peter Hain, told parliament he had warned the Ukrainian government to halt the supply of weapons to Unita, which is subject to a UN embargo.

Mr Hain also reiterated what Angolans have known for years, that Mr Savimbi is the greatest obstacle to peace.

The Angolan government is refusing to negotiate with Unita, saying it considers Mr Savimbi's signature on any peace agreement to be worthless. He has breached two previous peace deals.