Mbanza Kongo – Roughly 2.5 square kilometers of Angolan territory, which had been illegally occupied by the authorities of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on the border between the Nóqui municipality (Angola) and the Matadi city (DRC), were recovered by the Zaire government.
Speaking to ANGOP on Thursday, the Nóqui administrator, Manuel José António, explained that the recovery of this space by the Angolan authorities is the result of a memorandum of understanding reached between the two border regions in August of the current year.
“The talks that had been taking place between the authorities of the towns of Nóqui and Matadi culminated in the signing of a memorandum, which allowed the recovery of a part of the national territory that had been occupied by the neighboring country”, Antonio said.
According to the source, during the negotiations between the authorities of the two border locations, it was decided to demolish the residences of DRC citizens built anarchically in the national territory, whose process ended last week.
In total, Antonio said, a total of 13 residences, five foundations and a dirt road that gave access to the illegally occupied area were demolished, having highlighted the collaboration of the Congolese authorities on the positive outcome of this issue that dates back to Angola’s national independence.
The Nóqui municipal administration defended the sealing of the recovered space to avoid other situations along the common border in the near future.
Four municipalities in the province of Zaire share a border with the Central Congo region (DRC), namely Mbanza Kongo, Soyo, Cuimba and Nóqui, covering a length of 310 km. J.L./TED/AMP
