List of wars involving Angola

The following is a list of wars involving Angola.

List

Conflict	Combatant 1	Combatant 2	Result
Battle of Kombi (29 October 1647) (Part of Dutch–Portuguese War)	Dutch Republic and Kingdom of Ndongo	Kingdom of Portugal	Dutch-Ndongo victory
Battle of Mbwila (29 October 1665) (part of Kongo Civil War)	Kingdom of Kongo		Portuguese victory
Battle of Mbidizi River (June 1670)	Soyo and Ngoyo		Soyo victory
Battle of Kitombo (18 October 1670)	Soyo and Ngoyo		Soyo victory
Battle of São Salvador (15 February 1709) (part of Kongo Civil War)	Orthodox Catholics	Antonian Catholics	Decisive Orthodox victory
Battle of Quifangondo (10 November 1975) (part of Angolan Civil War)	National Liberation Army of Angola or ELNA (National Liberation Front of Angola or FNLA), Zaire and South Africa	People's Armed Forces of Liberation of Angola or FAPLA (MPLA) and Cuba	FAPLA victory
Angolan War of Independence (1961–1974)	MPLA FNLA UNITA FLEC	Portugal South Africa	Political victory Alvor Agreement, Angolan independence in 1975
Angolan Civil War (1975–2002)	People's Republic of Angola/Republic of Angola MPLA Cuba (1975–1989) SWAPO (1975–1989)^[1] ANC (1975–1989)^[2]^[1] Executive Outcomes (1993–1995)^[3] FLNC (1975–2001)^[4]^[5] Namibia (2001–2002)^[a] Military advisers and pilots: Soviet Union (1975–1989)^[7]^[8] East Germany (1975–1989)^[9]^[10]^[11] North Korea (1980s)^[b]	Democratic People's Republic of Angola UNITA FNLA (1975–1976) FNLA (1976–1978)^[5] South Africa (1975–1989)^[12] Zaire (1975)^[15]^[5] FLEC	MPLA victory Withdrawal of all foreign forces in 1989. Transition towards a multiparty political system in 1991/92. Dissolution of the armed forces of the FNLA. Participation of UNITA and FNLA, as political parties, in the new political system, from 1991/92 onwards. Jonas Savimbi, leader of UNITA, killed in 2002; UNITA abandoned armed struggle and participated in electoral politics. Resistance of FLEC continued to this day
Cabinda War (1975–)	Angola Cuba	FLEC	Ongoing Surrender of FLEC-Renovada in August 2006
Battle of Cassinga (4 May 1978) (part of South African Border War)	South Africa	Namibia (People's Liberation Army of Namibia or PLAN (SWAPO) Cuba	South African military victory
Battle of Cuito Cuanavale (14 August 1987 - 23 March 1988) (part of Angolan Civil War and South African Border War)	FALA (UNITA) South Africa	Namibia (SWAPO) Cuba FAPLA (MPLA) Mkhonto we Sizwe (African National Congress)	Inconclusive
First Congo War (1996–1997)	AFDL Rwanda Uganda^[16] Burundi^[17] Angola^[17] SPLA^[18] Eritrea^[19] Supported by: South Africa^[20] Zambia^[21] Zimbabwe^[20] Ethiopia^[22] Tanzania^[23] United States (covertly)^[24] Mai-Mai^[c]	Zaire FAZ White Legion Sudan^[18] Chad^[25] Ex-FAR/ALiR Interahamwe CNDD-FDD^[26] UNITA^[27] ADF^[28] FLNC^[29] Supported by: France^[30]^[31] Central African Republic^[31] China^[32] Israel^[32] Kuwait (denied)^[32] Mai-Mai^[c]	Victory Overthrow of the Mobutu regime Zaire renamed back to the Democratic Republic of the Congo Installation of Laurent-Désiré Kabila as president Beginning of Second Congo War
Congo-Brazzaville Civil War (1997–1999)	Nguesso Government Angola Chad	Lissouba Government DR Congo	Victory Return to power of Denis Sassou Nguesso
Second Congo War (1998–2003)	Pro-government: DR Congo Angola Chad Namibia Zimbabwe Sudan (alleged) Anti-Ugandan forces: LRA ADF UNRF II FNI Anti-Rwandan militias: FDLR ALiR Interahamwe RDR Mai-Mai Other Hutu-aligned forces Anti-Burundi militias: CNDD-FDD FROLINA	Rwandan-aligned militias: RCD RCD-Goma Banyamulenge Ugandan-aligned militias: MLC Forces for Renewal UPC Other Tutsi-aligned forces Anti-Angolan forces: UNITA Foreign state actors: Uganda Rwanda Burundi Note: Rwanda and Uganda fought a short war in June 2000 over Congolese territory.	Stalemate Assassination of Laurent-Désiré Kabila Sun City Agreement Creation of a unified, multi-party government in DR Congo, with Joseph Kabila as president Pretoria Accord; Rwandan withdrawal from DR Congo in exchange for commitment towards the disarmament of Hutu militias. The Transitional Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is established, deployment of MONUC. End of the Angolan Civil War. Continuation of the Ituri conflict. Start of the Kivu conflict.
Kivu Conflict (2004–2009)	DR Congo Mai-Mai Zimbabwe Angola	CNDP	Victory CNDP integrated into the FARDC
Séléka Rebellion (2013–)	Central African Republic South Africa France DR Congo Angola Cameroon Chad Congo-Brazzaville Gabon	Séléka Anti-balaka	Ongoing President Michel Djotodia resigns and is replaced by Catherine Samba-Panza

Notes

^ Irritated by UNITA cross-border raids, the Namibian Defence Force retaliated by sending units into southern Angola and destroying a UNITA training camp at Licua in late January 2001.^[6] The Namibian troops were not withdrawn from Angola until May 2002.^[6]
^ The North Korean Military Mission in Angola had about 1,500 personnel attached to FAPLA in 1986, most likely advisers, although their exact duties are uncertain.^[12] Their presence in Angola may have been indirectly subsidised by the Soviet Union.^[13] Up to 3,000 North Korean military personnel served in Angola throughout the 1980s.^[14]
^ ^a ^b Many Mai-Mai militias in eastern Zaire initially allied themselves with Rwanda and the AFDL against Hutu militants and refugees.^[33] As soon as most Hutu were driven away, however, many Mai-Mai groups turned against Rwanda and the AFDL.^[34] Despite this, some anti-Hutu Mai-Mai remained allied with Rwanda and the AFDL.^[35]

References

^ ^a ^b Shubin, Vladimir Gennadyevich (2008). The Hot "Cold War": The USSR in Southern Africa. London: Pluto Press. pp. 92–93, 249. ISBN 978-0-7453-2472-2.
^ Thomas, Scott (1995). The Diplomacy of Liberation: The Foreign Relations of the ANC Since 1960. London: Tauris Academic Studies. pp. 202–207. ISBN 978-1850439936.
^ Fitzsimmons, Scott (November 2012). "Executive Outcomes Defeats UNITA". Mercenaries in Asymmetric Conflicts. Cambridge University Press. p. 167. doi:10.1017/CBO9781139208727.006. ISBN 9781107026919.
^ Wolfe, Thomas; Hosmer, Stephen (1983). Soviet policy and practice toward Third World conflicts. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 87. ISBN 978-0669060546.
^ ^a ^b ^c Hughes, Geraint (2014). My Enemy's Enemy: Proxy Warfare in International Politics. Brighton: Sussex Academic Press. pp. 65–79. ISBN 978-1845196271.
^ ^a ^b Weigert, Stephen (2011). Angola: A Modern Military History. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 85-151, 233. ISBN 978-0230117778.
^ Vanneman, Peter (1990). Soviet Strategy in Southern Africa: Gorbachev's Pragmatic Approach. Stanford: Hoover Institution Press. pp. 41–57. ISBN 978-0817989026.
^ Chan, Stephen (2012). Southern Africa: Old Treacheries and New Deceits. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. pp. 42–46. ISBN 978-0300184280.
^ Mitchell, Thomas G. (2013). Israel/Palestine and the Politics of a Two-State Solution. Jefferson: McFarland & Company Inc. pp. 94–99. ISBN 978-0-7864-7597-1.
^ Baynham, Simon (1986). Military Power and Politics in Black Africa. Abingdon: Routledge. pp. 216–219. ISBN 978-0367677275. The Soviets provided direction, heavy lift and training staffs, the East Germans technical specialists ranging from helicopter pilots to medical personnel, and the Cubans a mass of soldiery...The next pattern was one of mixed Angolan and Cuban ground units, supported by East German-manned helicopters...[conditions dictated] the withdrawal of Cuban units to garrison roles, the actual ground fighting being left to Angolan units (now equipped with some very recent Soviet weaponry), very closely supported by East German and Russian training logistic cadres.
^ Brent, Winston (1994). African Military Aviation. Nelspruit: Freeworld. p. 12. ISBN 978-0958388016. Besides arms and aircraft, large numbers of Russians, East Germans, and Cubans were brought into the country to bolster the Angolan armed forces...Although a number of locals were beginning to undertake combat sorties, most of the sorties were flown either by Cuban or East German pilots and crew.
^ ^a ^b James III, W. Martin (2011) [1992]. A Political History of the Civil War in Angola: 1974–1990. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers. pp. 207–214, 239–245. ISBN 978-1-4128-1506-2.
^ Polack, Peter (13 December 2013). The Last Hot Battle of the Cold War: South Africa vs. Cuba in the Angolan Civil War. Casemate Publishers. pp. 66–68. ISBN 9781612001951.
^ Herskovitz, Jon (22 October 2024). "Why North Korean Troops in Russia Have the World's Attention". BNN Bloomberg. Ontario. Archived from the original on 1 January 2025. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
^ Steenkamp, Willem (2006) [1985]. Borderstrike! (Third ed.). Durban: Just Done Productions Publishing. pp. 102–106. ISBN 978-1-920169-00-8.
^ Prunier (2004), pp. 375–376.
^ ^a ^b Duke, Lynne (15 April 1997). "Passive Protest Stops Zaire's Capital Cold". The Washington Post. p. A14. Archived from the original on 24 February 2011. Kabila's forces – which are indeed backed by Rwanda, Angola, Uganda and Burundi, diplomats say – are slowly advancing toward the capital from the eastern half of the country, where they have captured all the regions that produce Zaire's diamonds, gold, copper and cobalt.
^ ^a ^b Prunier (2004), pp. 376–377.
^ Plaut (2016), pp. 54–55.
^ ^a ^b "Consensual Democracy" in Post-genocide Rwanda. International Crisis Group. 2001. p. 8. In that first struggle in the Congo, Rwanda, allied with Uganda, Angola, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Burundi, had brought Laurent Désiré Kabila to power in Kinshasa
^ Reyntjens 2009, pp. 65–66.
^ Usanov, Artur (2013). Coltan, Congo and Conflict. Hague Centre for Strategic Studies. p. 36.
^ Makikagile, Godfrey (2006). Nyerere and Africa. New Africa Press. p. 173.
^ Prunier (2009), pp. 118, 126–127.
^ Toïngar, Ésaïe (2014). Idriss Deby and the Darfur Conflict. p. 119. In 1996, President Mobutu of Zaire requested that mercenaries be sent from Chad to help defend his government from rebel forces led by Lauren Desiré Kabila. ... When a number of the troops were ambushed by Kabila and killed in defense of Mobutu's government, Mobutu paid Déby a fee in honor of their service.
^ Prunier (2009), pp. 116–118.
^ Duke, Lynne (20 May 1997). "Congo Begins Process of Rebuilding Nation". The Washington Post. p. A10. Archived from the original on 24 February 2011. Guerrillas of Angola's former rebel movement UNITA, long supported by Mobutu in an unsuccessful war against Angola's government, also fought for Mobutu against Kabila's forces.
^ Prunier (2004), pp. 375–377.
^ Reyntjens 2009, pp. 112–113.
^ "Strategic Review for Southern Africa". University of Pretoria. 20–21. 1998. As the conflict developed, France provided financial support to Mobutu and pushed hard for foreign intervention. However, under US pressure, France eventually terminated its call for intervention.
^ ^a ^b Carayannis, Tatiana (2015). Making Sense of the Central African Republic. Zed Books. In the waning days of Mobutu's rule, while Kabila's Rwandan- and Ugandan-backed putsch was rapidly making its way across Congo, France sought to prop up Mobutu's dying regime through covert military aid to the ailing dictator ... This covert aid was facilitated by Patassé
^ ^a ^b ^c Reyntjens 2009, pp. 112.
^ Prunier (2009), pp. 117, 130, 143.
^ Prunier (2009), p. 130.
^ Prunier (2009), p. 143.

Sources

Plaut, Martin (2016). Understanding Eritrea: Inside Africa's Most Repressive State. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-066959-1.
Prunier, Gérard (July 2004). "Rebel Movements and Proxy Warfare: Uganda, Sudan and the Congo (1986-99)". African Affairs. 103 (412): 359–383. doi:10.1093/afraf/adh050. JSTOR 3518562.
Prunier, Gérard (2009). Africa's World War: Congo, the Rwandan Genocide, and the Making of a Continental Catastrophe. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-970583-2.
Reyntjens, Filip (2009). The Great African War: Congo and Regional Geopolitics, 1996-2006. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-11128-7.

[KBS-7] Irritated by UNITA cross-border raids, the Namibian Defence Force retaliated by sending units into southern Angola and destroying a UNITA training camp at Licua in late January 2001.^[6] The Namibian troops were not withdrawn from Angola until May 2002.^[6]

[KBV-16] The North Korean Military Mission in Angola had about 1,500 personnel attached to FAPLA in 1986, most likely advisers, although their exact duties are uncertain.^[12] Their presence in Angola may have been indirectly subsidised by the Soviet Union.^[13] Up to 3,000 North Korean military personnel served in Angola throughout the 1980s.^[14]

[Mai-Mai-27] Many Mai-Mai militias in eastern Zaire initially allied themselves with Rwanda and the AFDL against Hutu militants and refugees.^[33] As soon as most Hutu were driven away, however, many Mai-Mai groups turned against Rwanda and the AFDL.^[34] Despite this, some anti-Hutu Mai-Mai remained allied with Rwanda and the AFDL.^[35]

[Hot-1] Shubin, Vladimir Gennadyevich (2008). The Hot "Cold War": The USSR in Southern Africa. London: Pluto Press. pp. 92–93, 249. ISBN 978-0-7453-2472-2.

[Diplomacy-2] Thomas, Scott (1995). The Diplomacy of Liberation: The Foreign Relations of the ANC Since 1960. London: Tauris Academic Studies. pp. 202–207. ISBN 978-1850439936.

[3] Fitzsimmons, Scott (November 2012). "Executive Outcomes Defeats UNITA". Mercenaries in Asymmetric Conflicts. Cambridge University Press. p. 167. doi:10.1017/CBO9781139208727.006. ISBN 9781107026919.

[Katangese-4] Wolfe, Thomas; Hosmer, Stephen (1983). Soviet policy and practice toward Third World conflicts. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 87. ISBN 978-0669060546.

[Proxy-5] Hughes, Geraint (2014). My Enemy's Enemy: Proxy Warfare in International Politics. Brighton: Sussex Academic Press. pp. 65–79. ISBN 978-1845196271.

[Weigert-6] Weigert, Stephen (2011). Angola: A Modern Military History. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 85-151, 233. ISBN 978-0230117778.

[Vanneman-8] Vanneman, Peter (1990). Soviet Strategy in Southern Africa: Gorbachev's Pragmatic Approach. Stanford: Hoover Institution Press. pp. 41–57. ISBN 978-0817989026.

[Chan-9] Chan, Stephen (2012). Southern Africa: Old Treacheries and New Deceits. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. pp. 42–46. ISBN 978-0300184280.

[Mitchell-10] Mitchell, Thomas G. (2013). Israel/Palestine and the Politics of a Two-State Solution. Jefferson: McFarland & Company Inc. pp. 94–99. ISBN 978-0-7864-7597-1.

[Baynham-11] Baynham, Simon (1986). Military Power and Politics in Black Africa. Abingdon: Routledge. pp. 216–219. ISBN 978-0367677275. The Soviets provided direction, heavy lift and training staffs, the East Germans technical specialists ranging from helicopter pilots to medical personnel, and the Cubans a mass of soldiery...The next pattern was one of mixed Angolan and Cuban ground units, supported by East German-manned helicopters...[conditions dictated] the withdrawal of Cuban units to garrison roles, the actual ground fighting being left to Angolan units (now equipped with some very recent Soviet weaponry), very closely supported by East German and Russian training logistic cadres.

[Brent-12] Brent, Winston (1994). African Military Aviation. Nelspruit: Freeworld. p. 12. ISBN 978-0958388016. Besides arms and aircraft, large numbers of Russians, East Germans, and Cubans were brought into the country to bolster the Angolan armed forces...Although a number of locals were beginning to undertake combat sorties, most of the sorties were flown either by Cuban or East German pilots and crew.

[James-13] James III, W. Martin (2011) [1992]. A Political History of the Civil War in Angola: 1974–1990. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers. pp. 207–214, 239–245. ISBN 978-1-4128-1506-2.

[HotBattle-14] Polack, Peter (13 December 2013). The Last Hot Battle of the Cold War: South Africa vs. Cuba in the Angolan Civil War. Casemate Publishers. pp. 66–68. ISBN 9781612001951.

[BNNDPRK-15] Herskovitz, Jon (22 October 2024). "Why North Korean Troops in Russia Have the World's Attention". BNN Bloomberg. Ontario. Archived from the original on 1 January 2025. Retrieved 31 December 2024.

[Borderstrike-17] Steenkamp, Willem (2006) [1985]. Borderstrike! (Third ed.). Durban: Just Done Productions Publishing. pp. 102–106. ISBN 978-1-920169-00-8.

[FOOTNOTEPrunier2004375–376-18] Prunier (2004), pp. 375–376.

[WashingtonPostApril15-19] Duke, Lynne (15 April 1997). "Passive Protest Stops Zaire's Capital Cold". The Washington Post. p. A14. Archived from the original on 24 February 2011. Kabila's forces – which are indeed backed by Rwanda, Angola, Uganda and Burundi, diplomats say – are slowly advancing toward the capital from the eastern half of the country, where they have captured all the regions that produce Zaire's diamonds, gold, copper and cobalt.

[FOOTNOTEPrunier2004376–377-20] Prunier (2004), pp. 376–377.

[FOOTNOTEPlaut201654–55-21] Plaut (2016), pp. 54–55.

[icg-22] "Consensual Democracy" in Post-genocide Rwanda. International Crisis Group. 2001. p. 8. In that first struggle in the Congo, Rwanda, allied with Uganda, Angola, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Burundi, had brought Laurent Désiré Kabila to power in Kinshasa

[FOOTNOTEReyntjens200965–66-23] Reyntjens 2009, pp. 65–66.

[24] Usanov, Artur (2013). Coltan, Congo and Conflict. Hague Centre for Strategic Studies. p. 36.

[nyerere-25] Makikagile, Godfrey (2006). Nyerere and Africa. New Africa Press. p. 173.

[FOOTNOTEPrunier2009118,_126–127-26] Prunier (2009), pp. 118, 126–127.

[chad-28] Toïngar, Ésaïe (2014). Idriss Deby and the Darfur Conflict. p. 119. In 1996, President Mobutu of Zaire requested that mercenaries be sent from Chad to help defend his government from rebel forces led by Lauren Desiré Kabila. ... When a number of the troops were ambushed by Kabila and killed in defense of Mobutu's government, Mobutu paid Déby a fee in honor of their service.

[FOOTNOTEPrunier2009116–118-29] Prunier (2009), pp. 116–118.

[30] Duke, Lynne (20 May 1997). "Congo Begins Process of Rebuilding Nation". The Washington Post. p. A10. Archived from the original on 24 February 2011. Guerrillas of Angola's former rebel movement UNITA, long supported by Mobutu in an unsuccessful war against Angola's government, also fought for Mobutu against Kabila's forces.

[FOOTNOTEPrunier2004375–377-31] Prunier (2004), pp. 375–377.

[FOOTNOTEReyntjens2009112–113-32] Reyntjens 2009, pp. 112–113.

[france-33] "Strategic Review for Southern Africa". University of Pretoria. 20–21. 1998. As the conflict developed, France provided financial support to Mobutu and pushed hard for foreign intervention. However, under US pressure, France eventually terminated its call for intervention.

[CAR-34] Carayannis, Tatiana (2015). Making Sense of the Central African Republic. Zed Books. In the waning days of Mobutu's rule, while Kabila's Rwandan- and Ugandan-backed putsch was rapidly making its way across Congo, France sought to prop up Mobutu's dying regime through covert military aid to the ailing dictator ... This covert aid was facilitated by Patassé

[FOOTNOTEReyntjens2009112-35] Reyntjens 2009, pp. 112.

[FOOTNOTEPrunier2009117,_130,_143-36] Prunier (2009), pp. 117, 130, 143.

[FOOTNOTEPrunier2009130-37] Prunier (2009), p. 130.

[FOOTNOTEPrunier2009143-38] Prunier (2009), p. 143.

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v t e Lists of wars involving African countries
Sovereign states	Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Comoros Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Djibouti Egypt Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Eswatini Ethiopia Gabon The Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Ivory Coast Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Morocco Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Rwanda São Tomé and Príncipe Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa South Sudan Sudan Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe
States with limited recognition	Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Somaliland
Dependencies and other territories	Canary Islands / Ceuta / Melilla (Spain) Madeira (Portugal) Mayotte / Réunion (France) Saint Helena / Ascension Island / Tristan da Cunha (United Kingdom)