Angola's Woes - Part VI

Continued from Part V

The Chaotic 80s

In the 1980s, conflict between Angola and South Africa arose due to the latter's refusal to grant independence to Namibia and its ceaseless campaign against the South West Africa People's Organization of Namibia (SWAPO), the principal nationalist group conducting an armed struggle against South African rule in the territory.

South African troops made periodic incursions into Angolan territory. The conflict escalated in August 1981, when South Africa conducted Operation Protea, in which South African troops advanced 120 km into Angolan territory. These incursions were accompanied by an escalation in the activities of UNITA, which assumed a more prominent military role, expanding its operations in eastern Angola while the government deployed its main forces in the west against Operation Protea.

During the period 1982-83, South Africa and UNITA together launched attacks on a wide variety of targets. South Africa occupied large sections of Cunene province. UNITA forces captured the strategic town of Cangamba, in Moxico province, with the aid of intense aerial bombardment by the South African air force in August 1983. However, these types of operations were increasingly difficult to justify as a 'hot-pursuit' action against SWAPO, but they were clearly aimed at destabilizing the Angolan government.

By the mid-1980s, UNITA was operating in most provinces. Angola countered these challenges with new policy initiatives. It continued to diversify its international contacts, establishing formal relations with the People's Republic of China in 1983 and moving towards a relationship with the European Community.

The mainstay of the economy, the petroleum industry, continued to prosper. About 50% of the government's revenue from the petroleum sector was used for expenditure on defence and security. In July 1983, changes were made to the military establishment. Regional military councils were established in all areas affected by the fighting, concentrating all state power in the hands of military officers directly responsible to the president. Counter-attacks against UNITA by the government forces, the Forcas Armadas Populares de Libertacao de Angola (FAPLA), achieved some success in 1982 and 1983.

To be continued...