The Front for the Liberation of the State of Cabinda (FLEC) has accused the Portuguese government of militarily supporting the Angolan government in the war in Cabinda. Portugal has refused to comment officially on the FLEC-FAC accusation.

Cited by DWAccording to Angolan activist José Marcos Mavungo, guerrilla warfare between the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) and FLEC-FAC has been going on for several years in that Angolan province - where most of Angola's mineral wealth is located.

He believes that "Cabinda is abandoned to its fate" because the conflict is ignored by the international community.

It is because of this conflict that FLEC accuses Portugal of militarily supporting Angola's aggression in that territory.

Marcos Mavungo says he has no objective information about Portugal's alleged support for the guerrillas in the enclave. However, he says that there is military cooperation between Western countries, including the European Union.

"There is also cooperation between the US, Russia and China with Angola. Now I don't know if FLEC is referring to this," he said.

The office of João Gomes Cravinho, Portugal's Minister for Foreign Affairs, has refused a request for comment from DW on Portugal's possible military support for the FAA.

In a statement, signed by FLEC-FAC deputy spokesman Lieutenant General Danda Wa Danda, the movement asks the European Parliament and the international community to condemn and sanction Portugal for its military support for the Angolan aggression in Cabinda.

The letter warns MEPs "to denounce the ambiguity of the Portuguese government in the face of the war situation" in the enclave.

Former MEP Ana Gomes, who was in Angola in 2008 to observe the elections, says she knows about the "serious problems of human rights and freedoms in Cabinda", which is unfairly "so badly treated by the Angolan government".

Portuguese politicians don't believe in any kind of support for the struggle to separate Cabinda from Angola, because "FLEC is in its infancy".

"And I don't think it has any recognition at international level, particularly in the European Parliament," he said.

For his part, Marcos Mavungo points the finger at the major Western powers that drew up the current borders, the source of the problems that, even today, after decolonization, have repercussions on the lives of African peoples.

"And if we take into account the contours of the Cabinda question itself, I think [the conflict] should deserve the attention of the European Union, just as Western Sahara, East Timor and more recently the [war] in Ukraine deserve attention."