Angolan Civil War
Noah Brummer The war that lasted for 26 year, the war that started with independence and ended with 500,000 people dead. The civil war was fought between two former liberation fronts; The People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). The two fronts had worked for the same goal in the years previous; the removal of Portuguese colonial rule. Upon independence the two fronts went to war almost immediately, and would not come to a conclusion until 2002. The tensions leading up to the Civil War were building for over 500 years. the Portuguese Colonists came to Angola in the 15th century and took the land from the natives. For the next couple hundred years, the colonists main trade was slaves. Many different ethnic groups were all living in Angola and tensions began rising early in the Portuguese rule. In 1961 the first hints of a fight for independence came up with the growth of the MPLA outside of Angola, who started a guerilla campaign that challenged the Portuguese rule. In 1974 the Portuguese military government was overthrown, leading to the Angolan Civil War that would last for three decades. The Angola Civil War was fought in three parts: 1975-1991, 1992-1994, 1998-2002, with times of peace and negotiations in-between the fighting. The civil war in Angola was also a surrogate battleground for countries involved in the Cold War. The Soviet Union, Cuba, South Africa, and the United States all became involved in the Angolan Civil War at one point or another. The United States and the Soviet Union both provided military assistance to their chosen sides in the Angolan Civil War. The devastation that was caused by the Angolan Civil War would last for decades to come. The civilians of the Angolan Civil War suffered greatly, with the economic market in Angola being destroyed. Over one million Angolans were displaced from the struggle. The aftermath of the war was so devastating because of the massive outside intervention, and the Angolan Civil War lead to many other wars in Africa like the Second Congo War and the South African Border War. |
Wade. “The Angolan Civil War (1975-2002): A Brief History.” South African History Online, 13 July 2017, www.sahistory.org.za/article/angolan-civil-war-1975-2002-brief-history.
“Angola: Civil War.” Mass Atrocity Endings, sites.tufts.edu/atrocityendings/2015/08/07/angola-civil-war/.