Angolan rebel leader Jonas Savimbi's body will be exhumed before the end of the year so that he can be buried "with dignity", his Unita party has said, AFP news agency reports.

Savimbi was killed by government forces on 22 February 2002, and was buried the next day in eastern Moxico province.

Six weeks later, Unita signed a peace deal with the government, ending a 27-year civil war.

Current Unita leader Isaias Samakuva announced that Savimbi's body would be exhumed after meeting President Joao Lourenco in the capital, Luanda, on Wednesday.

Earlier this month, he accused the government of denying Savimbi a "dignified burial" and said it was "explicit evidence" of its "policy of exclusion", AFP reports.