South Africa. South West African People's Organisation. African National Congress. The battle was the largest engagement of the Angolan conflict and the biggest conventional battle on the African continent since World War II.
After weeks of preliminary skirmishes, the two armies met at the Lomba River on September 6. Both sides claimed victory. Today, the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale is credited by some with ushering in the first round of trilateral negotiations , mediated by the United States , which secured the withdrawal of Cuban and South African troops from Angola and Namibia by Both superpowers tried to influence the outcome of the civil war through proxies.
After the Carnation Revolution of April in Portugal, the new revolutionary government of Portugal let go of Portugal's African overseas possessions, including Angola. The Treaty of Alvor comprised a series of agreements between the three rebel factions and Portugal that were to pave the way to independence. Under its terms, a transitional government was formed, elections were scheduled for the end of the year, and 11 November was slated as Angola's independence day.
Fighting between the three rebel factions started soon after the transitional government took office on 31 January , with each movement gaining control of their traditional areas of influence by mid the MPLA in the capital and central Angola, the FNLA in the north and UNITA in the south. According to Cuban leader Fidel Castro , the presence of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces in Angola was in accordance with an "internationalist mission" to combat colonialism and "defend [Angolan] independence".
After the Cubans had helped the MPLA gain power in they considered it necessary to stay in the country until conditions stabilized. Its security strategy was shaped by the doctrines of pre-emptive interventionism and counter-revolutionary warfare.
