Cuba, Angola Approve Plan to End Fighting, Pull Out Troops

Cuba and Angola Friday announced their approval of a U.S.-mediated peace plan for southwestern Africa, paving the way for an end to fighting in Angola after more than a decade and for independence in Namibia.

In a brief announcement in Havana, the Cuban government declared its assent to a plan that will lead to the withdrawal of 50,000 Cuban troops that have bolstered Marxist-ruled Angola in fighting against UNITA rebels and South African forces.

The Angolan decision was announced in a brief report by the official news agency ANGOP, leaving only South Africa still to approve the provisional agreement, which was reached Tuesday in Geneva after six months of U.S.-mediated talks.

“The Angolan government approves the results of the recent four-party talks in Geneva and the timetable for the total phased withdrawal of the internationalist Cubans,” ANGOP said in a report monitored in Lisbon.

South African Foreign Minister Roelof F. (Pik) Botha said Pretoria will announce its decision next week.

Namibia (South-West Africa) is ruled by South Africa in defiance of the United Nations. It has long served as a base for South African army raids into southern Angola to help support rebels of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola, known by its initials as UNITA.

A peace accord is expected to be signed soon in Brazzaville, Congo--scene of some of the negotiations--but no date has yet been set.