A top U.N. relief official says the humanitarian crisis in Angola is among the worst in the world with nearly one third of the nation's 12 million people displaced from their homes.

U.N. Emergency Relief coordinator Kenzo Oshima told the U.N. Security Council Tuesday that Angola's civil war has lowered life expectancy in the southwest African nation to 44 years of age and left two thirds of the people living in poverty. More than one million Angolans receive food aid.

Mr. Oshima blamed the UNITA rebels for destabilizing large parts of the countryside. He said the rebels have also harassed humanitarian workers and looted food supplies.

The relief coordinator said that while humanitarian aid from the government and international donors can help, the crisis will never end until the war does. He called on the international community to do all it can to bring peace to Angola.

UNITA rebels and the Angolan government have been at war - on and off - since the country's 1975 independence from Portugal. Some 500,000 people are believed to have lost their lives in the fighting.

Some information for this report provided by AP.

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