SA mercenaries 'to kill Savimbi'

CAPE TOWN (Reuter) - About 100 South African mercenaries are preparing to kill or kidnap the Angolan rebel leader, Jonas Savimbi, during a raid on his headquarters in the next two weeks, a paper said yesterday.

The pro-government Afrikaans newspaper, Die Burger, which has good contacts in the security forces, said the men had been recruited by the MPLA government in Luanda. Most were black veterans of 32 Battalion, a South African unit which included some Angolan mercenaries and earned a formidable reputation during South Africa's border wars. The battalion is to be disbanded on 26 March.