The process of civil war in Angola

The civil war in Angola can be roughly divided into three stages.

1975- 199 1, a civil war broke out between the Angolan People's Liberation Movement (MPLA/ MPLA) supported by the Soviet Union and Cuba and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA/UNITA) supported by the white regime of the United States and South Africa. During the civil war, although the MPLA supported by the Soviet Union won a partial victory and seized power, the country continued to be in a state of war. Portugal mediated the war and held a national election.

1992- 1994, UNITA leader Savimbi was dissatisfied with the results of the presidential election and launched a civil war again. Under the strong operation of the United Nations, peace was restored in Angola in June1994165438+10.

1998 —— In 2002, UNITA leader Savimbi was killed, and UNITA signed a peace agreement with SPLM and disarmed. 1September 1975, Angola's civil war broke out in an all-round way. 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 still weak and not good at conventional operations. Whether we can survive the most difficult years depends on the performance of Cuban volunteers. 654381October 7th, the ancient army fought against the 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 planes to defeat UNITA-South African troops with pickup trucks and mortars, and 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 code-named "Carota". Special forces and artillery under the Ministry of Internal Affairs flew directly to Angola on Su -22 transport planes, 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. An armored column 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 the Angolan people, government forces and UNITA forces is worsening. 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. Because the United States and South Africa insisted on linking the withdrawal of troops to Namibia's independence, the United States openly provided military assistance to UNITA, and the negotiations were deadlocked.

1In July 1987, Angola and the United States resumed negotiations, and the two sides met several times on the basis of new proposals put forward by Angola and the United States. 1988 65438+ From 10 to March, Angola, Cuba and the United States held many talks. During the talks, Cuba expressed its willingness to withdraw its 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 South African troops withdrew from Angola.

1 On August 22, 1987, South Africa formally signed a ceasefire agreement with Cuba and Angola, stipulating that South African troops would withdraw from Angola from September of1year. 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, the Angolan government abandoned the socialist line, and the multi-party system was implemented the following year. 1991May, the SPLM and UNITA signed a peace agreement with the intervention of the former sovereign country 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. Savimbi, the leader of UNITA, was dissatisfied with the election results and refused to participate in the second round of elections, thus triggering another civil war. In the second round of civil war, the United Nations imposed strong sanctions on UNITA, including an arms embargo and a ban on UNITA's resource exploitation activities. 1In September 1993, the United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution imposing an oil and arms embargo on UNITA. President Clinton announced in May 1993 that the United States officially recognized the Angolan government. Under the unfavorable battlefield situation, the area controlled by UNITA has been reduced to 15% of the national area, and the pressure from the international community is increasing. Savimbi returned to the negotiating table. 1993 to 165438+ 10, a new round of peace talks was held in lusaka, Zambia, and a new peace agreement was formally signed on 1994 to 165438+ 10/20.

1994165438+10 In October, the Angolan government and UNITA signed a peace agreement in Lusaka, Zambia, but soon, UNITA failed to implement the agreement, took control of the diamond-producing areas and continued the war. 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. According to insiders, 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 had arrested a security official of Savimbi before, so they knew the specific location where Savimbi often hid. A witness said that Savimbi wore a red beret on his head and an amulet-a red ribbon and a green ribbon-hung around his waist.

It is reported that the government originally planned to transport Savimbi's body to the capital for public display, but it failed to do so due to the weather. After being examined by government officials, Savimbi's body was put in a coffin and hastily 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 civil war was declared over.