1970s in Angola

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20th century of Angola
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The 1970s in Angola, a time of political and military turbulence, saw the end of Angola's War of Independence (1961–1975) and the outbreak of civil war (1975–2002). Agostinho Neto, the leader of the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), declared the independence of the People's Republic of Angola on November 11, 1975, in accordance with the Alvor Accords.[1] UNITA and the FNLA also declared Angolan independence as the Social Democratic Republic of Angola based in Huambo and the Democratic Republic of Angola based in Ambriz. FLEC, armed and backed by the French government, declared the independence of the Republic of Cabinda from Paris.[2] The National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA) and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) forged an alliance on November 23, proclaiming their own coalition government based in Huambo[3] with Holden Roberto and Jonas Savimbi as co-presidents and José Ndelé and Johnny Pinnock Eduardo as co-Prime Ministers.[4]

The South African government told Savimbi and Roberto in early November that the South African Defence Force (SADF) would soon end operations in Angola despite the coalition's failure to capture Luanda and therefore secure international recognition at independence. Savimbi, desperate to avoid the withdrawal of the largest, friendly, military force in Angola, asked General Constand Viljoen to arrange a meeting for him with South African Prime Minister John Vorster, Savimbi's ally since October 1974. On the night of November 10, the day before independence, Savimbi secretly flew to Pretoria, South Africa and the meeting took place. In a remarkable reversal of policy, Vorster not only agreed to keep troops through November but promised to withdraw the SADF troops only after the OAU meeting on December 9.[5][6] The Soviets, well aware of South African activity in southern Angola, flew Cuban soldiers into Luanda the week before independence. While Cuban officers led the mission and provided the bulk of the troop force, 60 Soviet officers in the Congo joined the Cubans on November 12. The Soviet leadership expressly forbid the Cubans from intervening in Angola's civil war, focusing the mission on containing South Africa.[7]

In 1975 and 1976 most foreign forces, with the exception of Cuba, withdrew. The last elements of the Portuguese military withdrew in 1975[8] and the South African military withdrew in February 1976.[9] On the other hand, Cuba's troop force in Angola increased from 5,500 in December 1975 to 11,000 in February 1976.[10] FNLA forces were crushed by Operation Carlota, a joint Cuban-Angolan attack on Huambo on January 30, 1976.[11] By mid-November, the Huambo government had gained control over southern Angola and began pushing north.[12]

  1. ^ Rothchild, Donald S. (1997). Managing Ethnic Conflict in Africa: Pressures and Incentives for Cooperation. pp. 115–116.
  2. ^ Mwaura, Ndirangu (2005). Kenya Today: Breaking the Yoke of Colonialism in Africa. pp. 222–223.
  3. ^ Crocker, Chester A.; Hampson, Fen Osler; Aall, Pamela R. (2005). Grasping The Nettle: Analyzing Cases Of Intractable Conflict. p. 213.
  4. ^ Kalley, Jacqueline Audrey (1999). Southern African Political History: A Chronology of Key Political Events from Independence to Mid-1997. p. 1–2.
  5. ^ Hilton, Hamann (2001). Days of the Generals. p. 34.
  6. ^ Preez, Max Du (2003). Pale Native. p. 84.
  7. ^ Westad, Odd Arne (2005). The Global Cold War: Third World Interventions and the Making of Our Times. p. 230–235.
  8. ^ Martin, Peggy J.; Kaplan; Kaplan Staff (2005). SAT Subject Tests: World History 2005–2006. p. 316.
  9. ^ Stearns, Peter N.; Langer, William Leonard (2001). The Encyclopedia of World History: Ancient, Medieval, and Modern, Chronologically Arranged. p. 1065.
  10. ^ Mazrui, Ali Al 'Amin (1977). The Warrior Tradition in Modern Africa. p. 227.
  11. ^ Angola Reds on Outskirts of Pro-Western capital city, January 30, 1976. The Argus, page 10, via NewspaperArchive.com.
  12. ^ Porter, Bruce D. (1986). The USSR in Third World Conflicts: Soviet Arms and Diplomacy in Local Wars. p. 149.