Angola civil war

A war that lasted for 27 years.

Angola, located in the southwest of Africa, belonged to Congo Kingdom, Ndongo Kingdom, Matamba Kingdom and Ronda Kingdom in the Middle Ages. In A.D. 1475, Portuguese Diogo C?o led a fleet of seven ships, carrying hundreds of soldiers and a few missionaries, sailing along the west coast of Africa, and finally arrived in Luanda, Angola, where he discovered all the coasts of Angola and erected monuments at the mouth of Congo and Cape St. Augustine. At the same time, he brought a group of slaves from Angola back to Portugal.

1560 Portuguese invasion of the kingdom of Ndongo. Luanda City was founded in 1576. Angola was classified as a Portuguese colony at the Berlin Conference held from 1884 to 1885. Portugal sent troops to occupy the whole territory of Angola in 1922. In 195 1, Angola was changed into an "overseas province" and was ruled by a governor.

After the Second World War, the anti-imperialist revolutionary movements surged and armed struggles broke out one after another. In Asia, the Korean people and the Vietnamese people won great victories in the national salvation war and the war against France and the United States respectively. In Africa, the Egyptian people won the war of aggression against Britain, France and Israel and recovered the sovereignty of the Suez Canal. In the first half of 1950s, Algerian, Tunisia, Moroccan and Kenyan people launched an armed struggle against imperialist and colonial violence. In Latin America, Cuba and Nicaragua won their independence through armed struggle, and the people of Panama and Dominica launched a large-scale anti-American patriotic struggle.

The wars of liberation broke out in African colonies in Portugal, especially the "Angolan People's Liberation Movement" supported by Angola, the Soviet Union and Cuba (referred to as the "Angola Movement") actively launched guerrilla warfare, which exhausted the Portuguese colonial army, and the war expenses there accounted for 40% of the Portuguese government's expenditure. ? During 1974, a carnation revolution took place in Portugal, and the original autocratic government was overthrown. Since then, the regime has changed frequently, and the original Portuguese colonies have become independent. By 1975, the Portuguese government reluctantly agreed to Angola's independence and handed over power to the Angolan movement.

Some middle and junior officers formed the "Armed Forces Movement" Movimento das For? Asaarmadas (MFA for short) staged a coup in Lisbon on April 25th, 1974, during which many civilians participated spontaneously. During the coup, soldiers held carnations instead of rifles, which triggered the carnation revolution. The revolution overthrew the longest dictatorship in Western Europe in the 20th century (42 years), which led to a chaotic "transition period" of two years, with frequent government changes (00 15 prime ministers). The United States did not want the pro-Soviet and Cuban people's movements to take power, but fostered the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) and the Angolan National Liberation Front (ANLF).

In order to increase the odds, the United States also wooed the white racist governments of South Africa and Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) to serve itself and used their bases to provide arms to UNITA and ANLF. These activities are carried out in secret by the CIA and are typical "black projects".

1in March 1975, Portugal withdrew its troops from Angola, and the Angolan Liberation Front (ANLF) was instructed by the US Central Intelligence Agency to attack the Angolan People's Movement, monopolizing the capital Luanda, and UNITA occupied the Angolan People's Movement base in the south. Facing the siege, Agostinho Neto, chairman of the People's Liberation Movement, sent letters of help to the Soviet Union, Cuba and other socialist countries. Cuba sent 250 volunteers to help the People's Liberation Movement recapture Luanda in July of the same year and drive the Liberation Front to the countryside. Angola is divided into three parts: Anlu controls the northern oil fields with18,000 troops, while UNITA occupies the southern diamond mining areas with about 2 10/0,000 troops, while the Angolan People's Movement only holds the capital Luanda and surrounding provinces, with a total strength of only10,000 troops, which is not dominant at all.

The three major armed factions in Angola are actually fighting for the Central Plains, and the key is to see who can get excellent foreign aid. William colby, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, personally directed the assistance to UNITA and ANLF. First, the C- 130 transport plane of the CIA sent the fire to the Charleston Air Force Base, and then the C- 14 1 transport plane of the US Air Force transported it to the "mandated territory" of South Africa, southwest Africa (now Namibia) and Zaire, and then trucks were provided by the South African and Zaire armies and transported to UNITA and ANLF base camps in Angola.

According to statistics, every flight of C- 14 1 transport plane will cost American taxpayers 80,000 dollars. In the people's liberation movement, Soviet civil aviation and merchant shipping companies successively brought in a large number of heavy weapons, and Cuban pilots even directly flew planes to scout the areas occupied by UNITA and ANLF, which made great contributions to the victory of the people's liberation movement.

1975, Portugal, the former sovereign state of Angola, agreed to the country's independence and organized domestic political parties to hold consultations on post-independence matters. 15 10 15, Portugal reached an Angolan independence agreement with the People's Liberation Movement, the Liberation Front and UNITA to form a transitional government.

Soon, armed conflicts broke out between SPLA, ANLF and UNITA. In the same year165438+1October 1 1, Angola became independent and the Angolan People's Movement established the People's Republic of Angola; ANLF and UNITA established the People's Democratic Republic of Angola. On the same day, the armed conflict between the two factions in Angola expanded into a full-scale civil war.

Full-scale conflict

Angola's civil war broke out in September, 1975. According to the battle plan designed by the Americans, the UNITA-South African Coalition forces and the ANLF- Zaire Coalition forces attacked from north to south in an attempt to destroy the SPLA regime within one month. In order to ensure the progress of the battle, the CIA even used the U.S. C-54 transport plane to directly send Zaire's most elite 4th and 7th infantry battalions to the ANLF base area to help ANLF capture Caxito, an important town in northern Angola. The Americans also gave UNITA a commercial plane with South African military advisers to guide UNITA's operations nearby.

At this time, the PLA Army was weak and not good at conventional operations. Whether we can survive the most difficult years depends on the performance of Cuban volunteers. 654381October 7, the ancient army fought UNITA-South African Army for the first time in the southern town of Norton matos. Cuban soldiers dispatched five T-34/85 tanks and several light attack aircraft, and defeated the UNITA-South African army with pickup trucks and mortars.

14 south African soldiers were killed. The defeated South Africans vowed revenge. A week later, they organized a "Zulu" task force with as many as 1000 people and parachuted into the central Angolan city of Bie by transport plane, copying the back road of the ancient army. The move really worked, and the local Anrenyun defenders left the ancient army and fled. In the ensuing bloody battle, the ancient army died 130, and finally jumped out of the encirclement of the Yugoslav army, and the whole south-central Angola also fell into the hands of the enemy.

Facing the attack from the north and the south, the Angolan People's Movement called for "more support" for the Soviet Union and Cuba. 1At the beginning of October, Cuban leader Castro approved the military aid plan codenamed "Carota". Special forces and artillery under the Ministry of Internal Affairs flew directly to Angola on the Su -22 transport plane, while the Cuban merchant fleet was responsible for transporting other follow-up troops and equipment. 165438+ By the middle of 10, more than 9,000 Cuban volunteers had assisted Angola, equipped with 130 tanks and armored vehicles, 97 large-caliber guns, and several MIG-2/kloc-0 fighters sent by the Soviet Union. The Angolan People's Movement also mobilized in the controlled area, and the number of troops expanded to 26,000. After the strength was restored, Cuban military advisers suggested that the Angolan People's Liberation Army should adopt the strategy of "North first and then South" and concentrate its main force on attacking the weak ANLF- Zaire Coalition forces. However, dos Santos, the military representative of the Angolan People's Liberation Army (later President of Angola), insisted that the UNITA-South Africa alliance was close to Luanda and should give priority to solving the "elbow and armpit problems". 165438+1On October 23rd, SPLA insisted on attacking Kibala, the southern railway hub occupied by UNITA. Due to the lack of air support and tactical cooperation, SPLA was defeated by the South African army and UNITA.

1October 25th, 1976, 65438+65438, the SPLA- Cuban coalition forces launched an attack on Caxito occupied by ANLF. The Cuban Air Force gave full support, and the intensive bombing broke the resistance of ANLF members, while the SPLA- Cuban Coalition forces reported good news frequently. On February 15, the two sides launched a decisive battle in San Salvador. Armored columns composed of Cuban soldiers infiltrated the rear of the ANLF- Zaire Coalition, destroyed four secret supply points and killed several white pilots serving the CIA on the spot. This sudden attack severely damaged the morale of the ANLF- Zaire side, and the frontline troops were in chaos. In particular, the Zairian army intervened, regardless of its allies, and ran to the Congo River, hoping to flee back to China as soon as possible. Many people were trampled to death and drowned in the chaos. After this movement, the Angolan Liberation Front is no longer an important player in Angola's political arena.

After the People's Liberation Movement defeated the Angolan Liberation Front and drove UNITA out of the city, the Angolan people's democracy and country disintegrated. The Angolan people have been recognized by many countries in the world. However, the civil war between Angolan people, People's Republic of China (PRC) government forces and UNITA forces has intensified. At that time, the China People's Liberation Army government had 53,000 regular troops and 50,000 reserve troops. With the support of the United States and South Africa, UNITA once had 26,000 regular troops and 34,000 militia. After defeating ANLF, the SPLA- Cuba joint forces were able to concentrate on dealing with the South African-UNITA group. 1In February, 1976, the Angolan People's Movement launched a new offensive codenamed "Grassland", attacking Huambo, the important town of UNITA. The Cuban air force carried out uninterrupted ground bombing, destroying all the heavy weapons of the South African army.

On March 27, the South African government announced its withdrawal from Angola, and UNITA was driven out of the town by the Angolan People's Movement and had to return to the jungle to fight guerrilla warfare. In 65438+February of the same year, the Angolan people led by the People's Republic of Angola joined the United Nations, which also marked the transformation of the victory of the People's Republic of Angola-Cuba Group on the battlefield into a political victory.

1In July 1987, large-scale battles took place between Angolan government forces and UNITA forces in Mavinga and Quanavale, Kuitto. The Cuban army and the South African army directly participated in the war, and both sides suffered heavy losses. At this stage of the civil war, both the Angolan People's Movement supported by the former Soviet Union and Cuba and UNITA supported by the United States and South Africa were involved in the civil war in Angola.

1982 the angolan government and the United States began talks on resolving conflicts in southern Africa. 1In February 1984, Angola and South Africa reached the Agreement on Military Contact and Disengagement. 1In July, 987, Angola and the United States resumed negotiations. On the basis of new proposals put forward by Angola and the United States, the two sides held several meetings. From 10 to March, Angola, Cuba and the United States held many talks. During the talks in Cuba, they expressed their willingness to withdraw their troops from Angola. During the talks in March, Angola and Cuba further proposed to the United States a timetable for Cuba to withdraw its troops from Angola within four years. Since May, the tripartite talks have expanded into four-party talks between Angola, Cuba, the United States and South Africa. On August 8, Angola, Cuba and South Africa reached an agreement to achieve a ceasefire in southern Angola and withdraw South African troops from Angola. 1 On August 22nd, 1987, South Africa formally signed a ceasefire agreement with Cuba and Angola, stipulating that South African troops would withdraw from Angola from September1year. At the end of September, Angola, Cuba, the United States and South Africa reached an agreement on the timetable for Cuba's withdrawal within 24 to 30 months. 65438+February 65438+March, Angola, Cuba and South Africa signed the Brazzaville Protocol, suggesting that Cuba withdraw all its troops from Angola within 27 months from 1989+April 1. 199 1 year, the Soviet Union disintegrated, 199 1 year. In May, the SPLM and UNITA signed a peace agreement with the intervention of the former suzerain Portugal, and held presidential elections the following year. 1992, José Eduardo dos Santos, leader of the People's Liberation Movement, won the first round of elections. UNITA leader Savimbi was dissatisfied with the election results and refused to participate in the second round of elections. The civil war broke out again and the country fell into civil war again. Savimbi led the "UNITA" armed forces not only to fight against government forces, but also to attack government officials, and even to kill civilians, United Nations officials and members of international humanitarian organizations by terrorist means, so as to attract the attention of the international community. 1After the civil war broke out again in Angola in 1998, the United Nations immediately strongly condemned the treachery of "UNITA" and adopted a decision to impose sanctions on it, hoping that Savimbi would give up taking the country as an enemy. It can be said that Savimbi has become that key to settle the civil war in Angola. From 65438 to 0999, UNITA led by Savimbi was at a military disadvantage, while the Angolan government won a major military victory and controlled 92% of the country's territory.

Is it over?

On the evening of February 23, 2002, Angolan national television broadcasted a video of the body of Savimbi, the leader of the anti-government armed forces. Savimbi, dressed in a green military uniform, lay on his back on an old cloth covered with blood. Two shots to the head, body 13. From time to time, the camera pointed to 15 bullet holes in his head, body and neck, and introduced that he was stamped with the seal of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA).

Savimbi was killed by government forces at 3 pm on February/Kloc-0 in Lukusai Town, Luwu District, moxico province, eastern Angola, about 700 kilometers from Luanda, the capital. At that time, Savimbi was resting in a secret hiding place on the river bank, surrounded by many senior officers, and 30 bodyguards never left. Only to be ambushed by government troops. In desperation, Savimbi fought with a submachine gun and was killed on the spot because he was outnumbered. All bodyguards and two battalion commanders were also killed, and others fled. ? Savimbi's murder was related to a tip-off from one of his guards. "According to a government official who led the hunt for Savimbi, they arrested a security official of Savimbi before, so they knew the specific location where Savimbi often hid." Savimbi was killed wearing a red beret with amulets, red ribbons and green ribbons around his waist. The government originally planned to transport Savimbi's body to the capital for public display. After being examined by government officials, Savimbi's body was put into a coffin and buried on the spot, only 50 kilometers away from where he founded UNITA. On April 4, UNITA signed a peace agreement with the government in Luanda, the capital, and disarmed 50,000 Angolan soldiers and incorporated them into the national army or police. The war that lasted for 27 years is over. After learning the news that Savimbi was killed, residents in Luanda, the capital, and other cities flocked to the streets to celebrate. It is generally believed that it is UNITA's failure to implement the Lusaka Peace Agreement that has plunged Angola into a long-term civil war and plunged the Angolan people into dire straits. )

End of movement

The civil war has done great damage to Angola's economy. In 2003, the United Nations report estimated that 80% of the population lacked basic medical facilities, 60% lacked water, and 30% of Angolan children died before the age of 5, with an average age of 40. About 654.38 million people died in the civil war, and about 654.38+0/3 of the population was displaced. The total number of mines in Angola is about120,000, that is, every person in the population of120,000 has one mine.

An era has ended and a brand-new era has begun.

Despite more than 20 years of civil war, Angola is one of the least developed countries in the world, but its economic potential is very high-first, it has more than 13 1 100 million barrels of oil reserves, followed by a large number of diamond resources, light industry, cement manufacturing and other industrial systems are relatively mature. Under the leadership of several generations of leaders, Angola beat capitalism with its own development speed, and its per capita GDP jumped from 1994 to $5000 today, and it is likely to become the richest country in Africa in the future.