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Angolan Civil War

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Angolan Civil War
Part of the Cold War and the South African Border War

Cuban and Angolan officers consulting a military operation.
Date15 November 1975 -
27 April 2002
Location
Angola
Result

MPLA military victory; transition towards

a multiparty political system; dissolution of the armed forces of UNITA and FNLA; participation of these movements, as political parties, in the new political system, from 1991/92 onwards; resistance of FLEC continued beyond 2002
Belligerents
MPLA
Cuba
Supported by:
 Soviet Union (1975-89)[1]
East Germany East Germany		 UNITA
FNLA
FLEC
 South Africa (until 1989)
Supported by:
 United States
Commanders and leaders
Agostinho Neto
José Eduardo dos Santos
Arnaldo Ochoa
Leopoldo Cintra
Soviet Union Konstantin Schaganovich		 Jonas Savimbi †
Holden Roberto
Strength

Angolan troops:

  • 40,000 - 70,000 (1987)[2]
  • 130,000 (2001)[3]

Cuba Cuban troops:

  • 35 000 - 37 000 (1982)[4]
  • 60,000 (1988)[4]

Soviet Union Soviet troops:

  • 1,200 (1985)[5]

UNITA militants:

  • 65,000 (1990, highest)

FNLA militants:

  • 22,000 (1975)[6]
  • 4,000-7,000 (1976)[7]

Union of South Africa South African troops:

  • 20,000 (1976)
Casualties and losses

Unknown
Cuba 2,077 killed,[8]
15,000 dead, wounded or missing[9]

Soviet Union 54 killed[10]

Unknown
Unknown

Union of South Africa 2,300 dead
Over 500,000 civilians killed[11]

The Angolan Civil War was a major civil war in the African country of Angola. It started in 1975 and continued until 2002. The war began right after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. The Civil War was mostly a fight for power between two former liberation movements, the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). Other countries got involved in the war because they wanted their own ideologies to win. This made the Angolan war part of the Cold War. In 2002 the MPLA won.

About 500,000 people died in the war. The war also did a lot of damage to buildings in Angola. Because of all the damage, in 2003 80% of Angolans lacked access to basic medical care, 60% lacked access to water, and 30% of Angolan children would die before the age of 5, with an overall national life expectancy of less than 40 years of age. With the civil war between 1975 and 2002 it was 27 years of fighting.[12]

Background

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In 1575, the Portuguese started to colonize parts of what is now Angola. Before, some of the land was part of the Kingdom of Kongo.

Combatants

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MPLA

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The MPLA was a communist group fighting for Angolan independence. Its leader was Agostinho Neto. They were supported by the Soviet Union.

UNITA

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UNITA was an anti-communist group also fighting for Angolan independence. Its leader was Jonas Savimbi.

FNLA

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FNLA was another anti-communist independence group. Its leader was Holden Roberto. The US gave them money by funneling it through Zaire.

War

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1970s

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In 1975, Portugal signed the Alvor Agreement with MPLA, UNITA, and FNLA. The agreement said, that, Angola would become independent on 11 November 1975.[source?]

Aftermath

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The war destroyed a lot of buildings in Angola.[source?] There are still landmines remaining killing and hurting people.[source?]

References

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  1. ↑ "AfricanCrisis". Archived from the original on 2012-03-13. Retrieved 2012-04-24.
  2. ↑ La Guerras Secretas de Fidel Castro Archived 2012-01-18 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish)
  3. ↑ Africa South of Sahara 2004, page 66
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Web Page Under Construction". www.cubamatinal.com. Archived from the original on 2012-01-18. Retrieved 2012-04-24.
  5. ↑ "CHAPTER XI: Chevron-Gulf Keeps Marxist Angola Afloat". Archived from the original on 2012-03-15. Retrieved 2012-04-24.
  6. ↑ "struggle,_civil_war,_and_intervention.html Angola-Independence Struggle, Civil War, and Intervention".[permanent dead link]
  7. ↑ Political terrorism: a new guide to actors, concepts, data bases, theories and literature
  8. ↑ "Fidel Castro of Africa! - Natna". Archived from the original on 2013-08-06. Retrieved 2012-04-24.
  9. ↑ Shubin, Gennadiĭ Vladimirovich; Tokarev, Andreĭ Aleksandrovich (14 February 2019). Bush War: The Road to Cuito Cuanavale: Soviet Soldiers's Accounts of the Angolan War. Jacana Media. ISBN 978-1-4314-0185-7 – via Google Books.
  10. ↑ Sudakov, Dmitry (15 February 2011). "Soviet Union and Russia lost 25,000 military men in foreign countries". PravdaReport. Archived from the original on 20 February 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  11. ↑ Madsen, Wayne (2002-05-17). "Report Alleges US Role in Angola Arms-for-Oil Scandal". CorpWatch. Archived from the original on 2008-01-05. Retrieved 2008-02-10.
  12. ↑ Polgreen, Lydia (2003-07-30). "Angolans Come Home to 'Negative Peace'". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-02-10.


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