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68-428: Huambo receives its name from Wambu, one of the 14 old Ovimbundu kingdoms of the central Angolan plateau. The Ovimbundu, an ethnic group that originally arrived from Eastern Africa , had founded their central kingdom of Bailundu as early as the 15th century. Wambu was one of the smaller kingdoms and was hierarchically under the king of Bailundu, though it enjoyed a considerable degree of independence. Whereas Bailundo

136-509: A ceasefire contingent on the MPLA's agreement to "free and fair elections." When the UNITA demand was originally rebuffed by the MPLA, Savimbi vastly intensified his military pressure, while alleging that the MPLA was resisting free and fair elections because they feared a UNITA electoral victory. Meanwhile, an agreement was reached that provided for the removal of foreign troops from Angola in exchange for

204-413: A considerable number of villages and much infrastructure (roads, railways, bridges etc.). Many people died, and many others fled to cities either in their own area ( Benguela , Lobito ) or in distant areas (mainly Luanda and its surroundings, but also Lubango ). During long periods parts of Umbundu territory were under UNITA control. Since 2002, considerable efforts at reconstruction have been made - by

272-509: A costly one, with many of Savimbi's U.S. conservative allies urging Savimbi to contest dos Santos electorally in the run-off election. Savimbi's decision to forego the run-off also greatly strained UNITA's relations with U.S. President George H. W. Bush . As Savimbi resumed fighting, the U.N. responded by implementing an embargo against UNITA through United Nations Security Council Resolution 1173 . The UN-commissioned Fowler Report detailed how UNITA continued to finance its war effort through

340-602: A new boom. In early 2000 there were over 25,000 displaced people in the village of Caala, and over 40,000 in Huambo town. As international sanctions tightened around UNITA, their military actions in Huambo got more frequent and destructive, reaching a peak of violence by the end of 2000. In October 2001 the Government launched a renewed offensive against UNITA from the North and the South of

408-547: A peace agreement was reached between the MPLA and UNITA . United Nations agencies and NGOs progressively moved in between mid-1991 and 1992. The situation gradually improved and general elections were called for in September 1992. But trouble set off as soon as the results of the polls were disseminated. Unrest arrived to Huambo very rapidly, as UNITA considered the Province in a way as their political shrine. They concentrated in

476-507: A significant part of this people is now scattered all over Angola. In political terms, the Angolan parliamentary elections of 2008 reflected an important shift in Ovimbundu loyalty: while most of them had voted UNITA in the previous (1992) election, their majority now voted MPLA - because (after the death of Jonas Savimbi) UNITA had lost much of its credibility, but also because strengthening UNITA

544-546: A sophisticated agriculture, completed by the breeding of small animals (chicken, goats, swine) as well as of a modicum of cows bought from the farmer-herders to the South ( Nyaneka-Nkhumbi , Ovambo ). Incisive change came about when the Portuguese established a colonial bridgehead in Benguela , in the 16th century. Several of the small kingdoms saw their advantage in organising an intense caravan trade between Benguela and peoples of

612-468: Is mentioned in some 18th and 19th-century chronicles in connection to a trading route linking it with Viye (Bie), Wambu was only really known with the advent of the construction of the Benguela Railway by the Portuguese. Though the kings of Bailundu and Wambu (particularly Ekuikui II and Katiavala I) opposed the penetration of the railway by ambushing workers and settlers, they were eventually subdued by

680-570: The Angolan War for Independence (1961–1975) and then against the MPLA in the ensuing civil war (1975–2002). The war was one of the most prominent Cold War proxy wars , with UNITA receiving military aid initially from the People's Republic of China from 1966 until October 1975 and later from the United States and apartheid South Africa while the MPLA received material and technical support from

748-607: The Estado Novo regime). 200 other delegates were present in the event. UNITA launched its first attack on Portuguese colonial authorities on 25 December 1966. Savimbi was originally affiliated with Holden Roberto 's National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA). UNITA later moved to Jamba in Angola's southeastern province of Cuando Cubango . UNITA's leadership was drawn heavily from Angola's majority Ovimbundu ethnic group and its policies were originally Maoist , they quickly abandoned

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816-591: The Reagan administration and the U.S. Congress. Michael Johns , the Heritage Foundation's leading expert on Africa and Third World Affairs issues, visited Savimbi in his clandestine southern Angolan base camps, offering the UNITA leader both tactical military and political advice. Through the lobbying efforts of Paul Manafort and his firm Black, Manafort, Stone and Kelly which was paid $ 600,000 each year from Savimbi beginning in 1985, UNITA gained strong backing from

884-700: The Reagan administration high ranking security officials met with UNITA leaders. Central Intelligence Agency Director William J. Casey , National Security Advisor Richard Allen , and Secretary of State Alexander Haig , on 6 March met with UNITA leaders in Washington, D.C. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Walker met with Savimbi in March in Rabat , Morocco. Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger , his assistant for International Security Matters Francis West, Deputy Defense Secretary Frank Carlucci , Deputy Director of

952-753: The Soviet Union and its allies, especially Cuba . Until 1996, UNITA was funded through Angolan diamond mines in both Lunda Norte and Lunda Sul along the Cuango River valley, especially the Catoca mine , which was Angola's only Kimberlite mine at that time. Valdemar Chindondo served as chief of staff in the government of UNITA, pro-Western rebels, during the Angolan Civil War (1975–2002). Jonas Savimbi , leader of UNITA, allegedly ordered Chindondo's assassination. Savimbi's successor as president of UNITA

1020-612: The United Nations Security Council enforced sanctions against UNITA (29 October 1997), because of delays in the implementation of the Lusaka Protocol and reluctance to demilitarize and turn over its strongholds, insecurity in Huambo increased gradually, especially in the second half of 1998. In early December the Government launched an offensive aimed at taking the last strongholds held by UNITA in Huambo and Kuito , this new war outbreak soon extending to other regions of

1088-529: The "Program For Social and Productive Reintegration of Demobilized and War Displaced People". In August 2002, UNITA officially gave up its armed wing, and UNITA placed all of its efforts on the development of its political party. Despite the ceasefire, deep political conflict between UNITA and the MPLA remains. Savimbi was immediately succeeded by António Dembo , who died shortly after Savimbi. Following Dembo, in elections contested by General Paulo Lukamba Gato , Dinho Chingunji and Isaías Samakuva , Samakuva won

1156-807: The Agricultural Research Institute (currently part of the College of Agricultural Science). In 1928 Huambo was renamed Nova Lisboa (New Lisbon, after Lisbon the capital of Portugal ), indicating that the colonial administration intended making of it at some point the capital of the colony. In 1966, the graduations in Veterinary Medicine, Agronomy and Forestry of the General University Studies of Angola (University of Angola, from 1968) are installed in Nova Lisboa. In motorsports, by

1224-511: The Angolan central highlands, Huambo is located near the headwaters of the Cunene River . The elevation of Huambo is 1,721 metres (5,646 ft) as it is on a high plateau. Huambo features a subtropical highland climate ( Köppen : Cwb ), with wet summers from October through April and dry winters between May and September. Despite its location in the tropics, due to its high altitude, Huambo features mild, spring-like temperatures throughout

1292-558: The Angolan government and stopped supporting UNITA, further alienating Savimbi. After failed talks in 1993 to end the conflict, another agreement, the Lusaka Protocol, was implemented in 1994 to form a government of national unity. In 1995, U.N. peacekeepers arrived. But UNITA broke away from the Lusaka agreement in 1998, citing violations of it by the MPLA. In late 1998, a militant group calling itself UNITA Renovada broke away from mainstream UNITA, when several UNITA commanders dissatisfied with

1360-508: The British entrepreneur Sir Robert Williams as the easiest and cheapest way to link the rich copper mines of Katanga , in Belgian Congo , with a point on the coast from which the mineral could be exported. The Lobito bay was admittedly the best natural seaport in the whole continent. The construction of the railway initially advanced with great difficulty, due to the ruggedness of the terrain,

1428-717: The CIA Bobby Inman , and Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency James Williams met with Savimbi between November 1981 and January 1982. Although the Clark Amendment forbid U.S. involvement in the civil war, Secretary Haig told Savimbi in December 1981 that the U.S. would continue to provide assistance to UNITA. The U.S. government "explicitly encouraged" the governments of Israel, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and Zaire to aid UNITA. In 1983

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1496-480: The Cuban expeditionary force had established its most important structures in the Province of Huambo in the areas of São Pedro, Lufefena, and Cruzeiro, and strong garrisons in most of the other municipal capitals and main towns, but UNITA had the control of nearly all of the territory in between. Displaced people started concentrating in towns, seeking physical protection and humanitarian assistance. In this context, one of

1564-644: The East, in particular the Chokwe , the Luvale and the Mbunda , from whom they obtained wax, rubber, honey and ivory. Each trading caravan had a professional leader and diviner. Trade agreements that had linked the independent chiefdoms led to the development of regional specializations, including metalwork and cornmeal production. Slavery and the slave trade were also an integral part of Ovimbundu societies. Caravan trading declined with

1632-640: The MPLA Government troops withdrew and UNITA gained full control of the city. Most other cities in the Central Plateau were also occupied by UNITA at the time. The armed conflict flared up again in August 1994. A large offensive gave back to the Government the control of Huambo on 9 November, and soon after all other provincial capitals. The UNITA headquarters was then moved to Jamba in the province of Kuando Kubango. The war ended formally on November 20, 1994 with

1700-506: The Maoist struggle, when they started collaborating with Portuguese Officials against the MPLA . They then aimed for rural rights and recognized ethnic divisions. During the 1980s, however, UNITA was aligned with the United States and apartheid South Africa . After the 1992 Angolan general election , UNITA lost its support from the United States and was only supported by apartheid South Africa. After

1768-672: The Plateau were being shelled from Bailundo and other positions still in possession of UNITA, two C-130 Hercules aircraft chartered by the United Nations with 23 people on board were shot down over Vila Nova (Dec. 26, 1998 and Jan. 2, 1999), as they were trying to evacuate to Luanda the last remains of the UNAVEM III mission in Huambo. The Government retook the town of Bailundo in October 1999. Londuimbali , Vila Nova and some other large towns in

1836-578: The Portuguese Army and Huambo was officially founded on 8 August 1912 by the Governor-General of Angola Norton de Matos . The origin of Huambo and the economic importance it reached under Portuguese administration is very closely linked to the construction of the Caminho de Ferro de Benguela ( Benguela Railway ), which had started in the coastal town of Lobito in 1902. This railroad had been devised by

1904-459: The Portuguese withdrawal from Angola in 1974–75 and the end of their colonial rule, the MPLA and UNITA splintered, and civil war began as the movements clashed militarily and ideologically. MPLA leader Agostinho Neto became the first president of post-colonial Angola. Backed by Soviet and Cuban money, weapons and troops, the MPLA defeated the FNLA militarily and forced them largely into exile. UNITA also

1972-463: The Province of Huambo for the duration of the war. The death of Jonas Savimbi in February 2002 and the subsequent signature of a new cease-fire brought back tranquility to the Province, set the conditions for the present ongoing peace process, and the beginning of an era of development. The advent of peace brought a new era of reconstruction and regeneration in Huambo, and across Angola. Situated in

2040-471: The Province were already under the rule of the Government, and in December 1999 the administration of the state had been reestablished in all municipal capitals. In this period the conventional war that the Province had known gave way to guerrilla warfare, UNITA still controlling most rural areas and randomly striking military or police installations of the Government, and often civilian communities too. The exodus of civilians into Huambo and Caála experienced

2108-428: The Province, combining this time strict military action with what were known as operações de limpeza , literally, cleansing operations which consisted in removing from rural areas large groups of population which were subsequently forced into a few, specific concentration points. The idea behind this strategy was depriving the guerrilla of the potential support it may still find in the villages they formerly controlled in

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2176-857: The Reagan administration. In 1986, U.S. conservatives convinced President Ronald Reagan to meet with Savimbi at the White House . While the meeting itself was confidential, Reagan emerged from it with support and enthusiasm for Savimbi's efforts, stating that he could envision a UNITA "victory that electrifies the world," suggesting that Reagan saw the outcome of the Angolan conflict as critical to his entire Reagan Doctrine foreign policy, consisting of support for anti-communist resistance movements in Central America, Southeast Asia, and elsewhere. Under Savimbi's leadership, UNITA proved especially effective militarily before and after independence, becoming one of

2244-573: The U.S. and South African governments agreed to ship weapons from the Honduras , Belgium and Switzerland to South Africa and then to UNITA in Angola. The U.S. also traded weapons with South Africa for intelligence on the civil war. Savimbi benefited from the support of influential American conservatives, including The Heritage Foundation 's Michael Johns and other U.S. conservative leaders, who helped elevate Savimbi's stature in Washington and promoted

2312-567: The UNITA election and emerged as UNITA's new president. In November 2019, Isaias Samakuva resigned as president and was replaced by Adalberto Costa Júnior with Arlete Leona Chimbinda as the new vice-president. UNITA received support from several governments in Africa and around the world, including the People's Republic of Bulgaria , Egypt , France, Israel, Morocco , the People's Republic of China, Saudi Arabia , Zaire , and Zambia . During

2380-401: The bush, making their natural habitat unlivable. In the short term this resulted in renewed pressure over available resources in safe areas of the city and Province of Huambo, and in many cases in the death by starvation of groups trapped by the conflict or impeded to reach any of those zones. This point probably represents the climax in the hardship the rural civilian population went through in

2448-686: The country's population. Overwhelmingly the Ovimbundu follow Christianity , mainly the Igreja Evangélica Congregacional de Angola (IECA) , founded by American missionaries, and the Catholic Church. However, some still retain beliefs and practices from African traditional religions . The origins of the Ovimbundu are Bantu populations who drifted in from the North, over the last millennium, and formed local/regional groups which slowly became political units and foci of social identity: M'Balundu, Sele, Wambo, Bieno and others. They developed

2516-524: The country. Huge population displacements started once again from the rural areas to Huambo, Kuito and Caala. Large camps of internally displaced people were then installed in these cities as the Humanitarian Community was forced to retire out of UNITA-controlled areas, withdrawing completely by the end of the year and concentrating in Huambo, Caala, and later, Ukuma. The security situation got extremely volatile. As Huambo and other major towns in

2584-500: The course of the year, a characteristic common among cities with this climate. September is the warmest month with a mean of 21.0 °C (69.8 °F), and June is the coolest month with a mean of 16.2 °C (61.2 °F) The city sees plentiful precipitation during the course of the year, averaging nearly 1,400 millimetres (55 in) of rain, although because of the dry season May to September receives significantly less precipitation, with June and July receiving no rain at all. Due to

2652-453: The end of U.S. support for UNITA. Matters were further complicated by repeated reports that Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev had raised U.S. support for UNITA in several formal and informal summit meetings with President George H. W. Bush , placing further pressure on the U.S. to end its support for UNITA. As the war began to include both military and diplomatic components, Johns and leading U.S. conservatives urged Savimbi to make

2720-580: The first humanitarian agencies to arrive in the Province of Huambo was the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in 1979. In 1984 the conflict escalated dramatically, and so did displacement into towns. A major relief operation was launched in the capitals of the Central Plateau and in a good number of the municipalities still accessible by plane. By then the largest part of the roads were controlled by UNITA and heavily mined. In May 1991

2788-600: The first round of balloting, and then questioning the election's legitimacy, Savimbi and UNITA returned to armed conflict. Fighting resumed in October 1992 in Huambo, quickly spreading to Angola's capital, Luanda . It was here that Jeremias Chitunda , UNITA's long-time vice-president and other UNITA officials were killed while fleeing the city culminating in the Halloween Massacre . Following Chitunda's death, UNITA defensively moved their base from Jamba to Huambo. Savimbi's 1992 decision to return to combat ultimately proved

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2856-565: The forces aligned against him, American conservatives pointed to his success, and that of Afghan mujahideen and the Nicaraguan contras , all of which, with U.S. support, were successfully opposing Soviet-sponsored governments, as evidence that the U.S. was beginning to gain an upper hand in the Cold War conflict and that the Reagan Doctrine was working. Critics, on the other hand, responded that

2924-454: The government, interested in national reconciliation, but to a large extent by the people themselves, by the churches and by a variety of NGOs. A significant proportion of the "internally displaced" Ovimbundu have returned to their places of origin, where traditional forms of social organization have often survived or then been reconstituted. However, larger or smaller Ovimbundu communities have remained in many cities outside their habitat, so that

2992-591: The headquarters of the Veterinary Research Institute and the Agricultural Research Institute, dedicated solely to research and extension. Ovimbundu The Ovimbundu , also known as the Southern Mbundu , are a Bantu ethnic group who live on the Bié Plateau of central Angola and in the coastal strip west of these highlands. As the largest ethnic group in Angola, they make up 38 percent of

3060-575: The higher altitude, temperatures in Huambo are only slightly higher than in city of Pretoria located almost 2000 km further south-east. There is more sunshine in the winter (particularly June and July) than the summer, and Huambo receives 2273 hours of sunshine in total. Huambo is home to two public higher education institutions, namely the José Eduardo dos Santos University and the Higher Institute of Education Sciences of Huambo. There are also

3128-439: The independence of Namibia from South Africa. In Angola, however, Savimbi told Johns and conservative leader Howard Phillips that he had not felt adequately consulted on the negotiations or agreement and was in opposition to it. "There are a lot of loopholes in that agreement. The agreement is not good at all," Johns reported Savimbi telling both of them during a March 1989 visit with Savimbi in Angola." A ceasefire ultimately

3196-417: The late 1960s, the city of Nova Lisboa had become internationally renowned for its International Nova Lisboa 6 Hours sports car race. Until the independence of Angola in 1975, the city of Nova Lisboa expanded and its economic growth and development boomed, making it one of the most important urban centres in the then Portuguese Overseas Province of Angola . After independence from Portugal in 1975, Nova Lisboa

3264-445: The leadership of Jonas Savimbi ended their allegiance to his organization. Thousands more deserted UNITA in 1999 and 2000. In 1999, a MPLA military offensive damaged UNITA considerably, essentially destroying UNITA as a conventional military force and forcing UNITA to return to more traditional guerrilla tactics. The Angolan civil war ended only after the death of Savimbi, who was killed in an ambush on 22 February 2002. His death

3332-594: The main social basis of UNITA , an anti-colonial movement that fought against the Portuguese from 1966 to 1974, was an adversary of the rival movement MPLA during the Angolan Civil War of 1975 to 2002, and is at present an opposition political party. During the Civil War the two major cities located in Umbundu territory, Huambo and Kuito , were to a large extent destroyed by the MPLA and UNITA respectively, as were

3400-475: The prevalence of malaria and, to some extent, the resistance of the natives. Huambo was found to be a strategic place for many reasons. A benign climate (greatly due to its high altitude, 1,700m) and the presence of abundant water resources in and around made of it an ideal spot to have a hub on the railway. Once this was achieved, the works progressed comparatively faster and the link with the Belgian Congo border

3468-539: The release of the civilians. Fighting in Angola continued until 1989, when, with UNITA advancing militarily, Cuba withdrew its support, removing several thousand troops that it had dispatched to Angola to fight Savimbi's UNITA. With many commentators and foreign policy specialists seeing that the Cold War might be drawing to an end, Savimbi's U.S. support, which had been strong, began to be questioned, with some in Congress urging

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3536-487: The sales of diamonds (later to be known as blood diamonds ) and resulted in further sanctions in the form of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1295 and action to end to the trade in blood diamonds through the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme . In late 1992 following the general elections , the U.S. government, which had never recognized the legitimacy of the MPLA, finally recognized

3604-456: The signature of the Lusaka Protocol . To a great extent this step meant a move towards normalcy, and was received in Huambo with moderate optimism. UNITA moved again its headquarters soon after signing the protocol, this time to Bailundo , some 50 km north of the provincial capital. This relocation raised serious concerns among most observers. By 1995 free transit of people and goods

3672-464: The strategic oil fields. But UNITA controlled much of the highland's interior, notably the Bié Plateau , and other strategic regions of the country. Up to 300,000 Angolans died in the civil war. In the 1980s and early 1990s, Savimbi sought out vastly expanded relations with the U.S. He received considerable guidance from The Heritage Foundation , an influential conservative research institute in Washington, D.C. that maintained strong relations with both

3740-459: The support given to UNITA, the contras, and the Afghan mujahideen was inflaming regional conflicts at great expense to these nations. Furthermore, UNITA, like the Angolan government it fought, was criticized for human rights abuses. UNITA gained some international notoriety in 1983 after abducting 66 Czechoslovak civilians and detaining a third of them for about 15 months. Belgium eventually negotiated

3808-761: The suppression of the slave trade and, more importantly, the construction of the Benguela Railway in 1904, and came to an end shortly after 1910. In the following years, the Ovimbundu completely changed their economy to cash crop production of corn, sold to a rapidly increasing network of Portuguese traders. However, because of their demographic growth, and because significant portions of their lands were appropriated by Europeans for coffee, sisal and other plantations, many Ovimbundu started to work as paid labour, mainly on European plantations in their own region or in Northwest Angola, but also in Namibian mines. The Ovimbundu are

3876-580: The town most of their leaders and a large section of their troops soon after the defeat in the elections was made public. The city would still be formally under the control of the MPLA government, but tension progressively built-up due to increasing violent actions. By the end of 1992 all foreign aid agencies had withdrawn from Huambo. UNITA took full control of the town in the course of horrendous street-to-street battles that started just after Christmas 1992 and reached its climax by mid-January in 1993. Violent combats in and around Huambo lasted for 55 days, until

3944-427: The transfer of American weapons to his war. Johns and other American conservatives met regularly with Savimbi in remote Jamba , culminating in the " Democratic International " in 1985. Savimbi later drew the praise of U.S. President Ronald Reagan , who hailed him as a freedom fighter and spoke of Savimbi winning a victory that "electrifies the world" while others hinted at a much darker regime, dismissing Savimbi as

4012-521: The world's most effective armed resistance movements of the late 20th century. According to the U.S. State Department , UNITA came to control "vast swaths of the interior (of Angola)". Savimbi's very survival in Angola in and of itself was viewed as an incredible accomplishment, and he came to be known as "Africa's most enduring bush fighter" given assassination attempts, aided by extensive Soviet, Cuban, and East German military troops, advisors and support, that he survived. As Savimbi gained ground despite

4080-641: Was Isaías Samakuva . Following Savimbi's death, UNITA abandoned armed struggle and participated in electoral politics. The party won 51 out of 220 seats in the 2017 parliamentary election . Samakuva resigned as party leader in November 2019, being replaced by Adalberto Costa Júnior . Jonas Savimbi and Antonio da Costa Fernandes founded UNITA on 13 March 1966 in Muangai in Moxico province in Portuguese Angola (during

4148-505: Was besieged, extensively damaged, and its civilians were massacred en-masse or fled the city. Upon independence in 1975, Savimbi declared Huambo to be the capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Angola , as UNITA's rival to the MPLA's People's Republic of Angola . However, the MPLA took the city back on 8 February 1976 with the help of Cuban troops, though most of the surrounding areas remained under UNITA control. By mid-1976

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4216-401: Was completed in 1929. By then Huambo had become the site of the most important railway workshop in Africa. By the 1920s Huambo already was one of the main economic engines of Portuguese Angola . It had some important food processing plants, served as the main exporting point for the Province's considerable agricultural wealth and was also known by its numerous educational facilities, especially

4284-417: Was given back its original name – Huambo. The Angolan Civil War from 1975 until 2002 halted Angola's and Huambo's development, destroying a great part of its infrastructure. Huambo became the site of the brutal 55 Day War and other battles during the bloody civil war between the MPLA and UNITA , that lasted from independence in 1975 until the death of rebel UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi in 2002. The city

4352-400: Was nearly destroyed in November 1975, but it managed to survive and set up a second government, the Democratic People's Republic of Angola , in the provincial capital of Huambo . UNITA was hard-pressed but recovered with South African aid and then was strengthened considerably by U.S. support during the 1980s. The MPLA's military presence was strongest in Angolan cities, the coastal region and

4420-630: Was negotiated and MPLA leader José Eduardo dos Santos and the MPLA's Central Committee rejected its Marxist past and agreed to Savimbi's demand for free and fair elections, though UNITA and its supporters viewed the promises skeptically, especially because the MPLA's relations with the Soviet Union remained strong. Following the 1991 Bicesse Accords , signed in Lisbon , United Nations-brokered elections were held, with both Savimbi and dos Santos running for president in 1992. Failing to win an overall majority in

4488-422: Was quite reestablished in the Province. By the end of the year the United Nations peacekeepers (UNAVEM III) had been deployed in Huambo, following the provisions of the Lusaka Protocol . 1996 and 1997 were years of relative improvement of the living conditions of civilians in Huambo, although return movements were only moderate, reconstruction slow and commercial activities did not regain their past vigor. After

4556-435: Was seen as implying the risk of a renewal of armed violence. UNITA The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola ( Portuguese : União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola , abbr. UNITA ) is the second-largest political party in Angola . Founded in 1966, UNITA fought alongside the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola ( MPLA ) and the National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA) in

4624-445: Was shocking to many Angolans, many of whom had grown up during the Angolan civil war and witnessed Savimbi's ability to successfully evade efforts by Soviet, Cuban and Angolan troops to kill him. Six weeks following Savimbi's death, in April 2002, UNITA agreed to a ceasefire with the government. Under an amnesty agreement, UNITA soldiers and their families, comprising roughly 350,000 people, were gathered in 33 demobilisation camps under

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