Background:
Civil war has been the norm in Angola since independence from
Portugal in 1975. A 1994 peace accord between the government and the
National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) provided
for the integration of former UNITA insurgents into the government
and armed forces. A national unity government was installed in April
of 1997, but serious fighting resumed in late 1998, rendering
hundreds of thousands of people homeless. Up to 1.5 million lives
may have been lost in fighting over the past quarter century. The
death of insurgent leader Jonas SAVIMBI in 2002 and a subsequent
cease-fire with UNITA may bode well for the country.