Nelumba, who is better known by his alias "Sanjar", was previously da Cruz's deputy, in charge of planning.

During his investiture ceremony, Nelumba raised the issue of the oil-rich Angolan enclave of Cabinda, wedged between the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo, where a guerrilla movement is fighting for independence.

"The situation has already been stabilised in this part of the country but there are still groups that are active," the general said in the presence of Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos.

Nelumba's predecessor Da Cruz had taken up his post in 2001 and led a vast offensive against the then rebel National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), which culminated in the battlefield death in February last year of UNITA's founder and leader Jonas Savimbi.

Savimbi's death signalled the end of Angola's 27-year civil war. A ceasefire pact was officially signed six weeks later between UNITA and the army, and the rebel group has now transformed itself into a political party.

Cabinda is the only province of Angola that is still at war after the defeat of UNITA.

Clashes in the tiny enclave, where armed groups have been fighting for independence from Angola, have caused some 30,000 deaths in the last 25 years.

The enclave only has 200,000 people, but nearly two-thirds of Angola's oil production comes from off-shore deposits there.

UNITA is currently holding a conference in Luanda, at which it is due to elect a successor to Savimbi.

WAR.WIRE