Angola groups urge UN to investigate deadly July crackdown

Leading Angola civil society groups have called on the United Nations to investigate a police crackdown on unrest two months ago when around 30 people were killed.

A July 28-30 taxi strike against fuel price hikes in the oil-rich nation exploded into protests and looting, with security forces responding with live ammunition and sweeping arrests.

In an open letter to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, five civil society groups made an "urgent request" for the world body to send a fact-finding mission.

The letter was seen by AFP on Wednesday but dated Tuesday, the same day President Joao Lourenco addressed the UN General Assembly.

It urged Guterres to "immediately establish an independent international fact-finding mission" that could identify perpetrators, collect evidence and "propose accountability measures".

"The systematic nature of violations, the scale of victims, the entrenched impunity, and the absence of domestic accountability mechanisms create compelling grounds for UN intervention," said the letter signed by the Friends of Angola non-profit and four others.

Police confirmed 30 deaths but have publicly released few details or follow-up. There has also been little information about the 1,500 people who were arrested, although some have been released on bail.

In the days following the unrest, Lourenco praised the security forces for acting "within the framework of their obligations" and restoring order "promptly".

The unrest followed several protests in July against fuel price increases in the country -- where around a third of the population lives below the international poverty line -- that followed the government's lowering of subsidies under pressure from the IMF and World Bank.