News In Brief
| Lisbon
Angolan rebels reportedly lose 47 troops in skirmish
Angolan troops killed 47 South African-backed guerrillas and captured arms and ammunition, the official Angolan news agency, Angop, said Thursday. The troops reportedly attacked as the UNITA (National Union for the Total Independence of Angola) guerrillas were withdrawing from a failed attack on a government stronghold.
Meanwhile, UNITA said 5,000 more Cuban troops and extra Soviet-made tanks, helicopters, and planes had arrived in Angola since August. A UNITA communique said there are now 45,000 Cuban toops in the former Portuguese colony. But diplomats in Lisbon termed this an exaggeration and said Western estimates put the figure at around 25,000.
