Non-fatal injuries 165 Date 10 August 2001 | Perpetrators UNITA Total number of deaths 252 | |
Location Between the towns of Zenza and Dondo, 150 kilometres south-east of the Angolan capital, Luanda. | ||
2001 angola train attack
The 2001 Angola train attack was an attack during the Angolan Civil War when on 10 August 2001 UNITA forces derailed a train travelling between towns of Zenza and Dondo with an anti-tank mine and then attacked the passengers with small arms fire.
Contents
History
The Angolan Civil War had been going on since 1975 and was a legacy of the cold war. As part of its ongoing efforts to overthrow the government, the 2001 Angola train attack occurred on 10 August 2001 when a passenger train in Angola hit an anti-tank mine placed on the track by National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) rebels. After its derailment, rebels attacked the passengers with gunfire, killing around 250 people of the 500 who were on the train. The attack took place about 150 kilometres (93 mi) south-east of the capital, Luanda. On 16 August 2001, members of the United Nations Security Council strongly condemned the attack, calling it a "terrorist attack".
On August 13th, UNITA took responsibility for the attack.