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122-598: Following the resumption of the Angolan civil war by UNITA, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1173 and Resolution 1176 in 1998, which sought to bring an end to the conflict by imposing sanctions against the UNITA movement, specifically targeting its ability to finance the war through the sale of blood diamonds . Despite the sanctions imposed against UNITA, the organisation

244-654: A free and fair election . SWAPO won a plurality of seats in the Constituent Assembly with 57% of the popular vote. This gave the party 41 seats, but not a two-thirds majority, which would have enabled it to draft the constitution on its own. The Namibian Constitution was adopted in February 1990. It incorporated protection for human rights and compensation for state expropriations of private property and established an independent judiciary, legislature, and an executive presidency (the constituent assembly became

366-542: A November 1978 special communique, Portuguese troops were among the 20,000 MPLA troops that participated in a major offensive in central and southern Angola. The FNLA formed parallel to the MPLA and was initially devoted to defending the interests of the Bakongo people and supporting the restoration of the historical Kongo Empire . It rapidly developed into a nationalist movement, supported in its struggle against Portugal by

488-615: A coup against Neto. By the time he returned, Neto had grown suspicious of Alves' growing power and sought to neutralize him and his followers, the Nitistas. Neto called a plenum meeting of the Central Committee of the MPLA. Neto formally designated the party as Marxist-Leninist , abolished the Interior Ministry (of which Alves was the head), and established a Commission of Enquiry. Neto used the commission to target

610-532: A few settlements. In this context, they also moved further south along the coast and founded the "third bridgehead" of Moçâmedes . In the course of this expansion, they entered into conflict with several of the African political units. Territorial occupation only became a central concern for Portugal in the last decades of the 19th century, during the European powers' " Scramble for Africa ", especially following

732-808: A former stockholder in De Beers , worked with the government of Zaire to supply military equipment to UNITA from 1993 to 1997. De Deker's brother, Ronnie, was an arms dealer who allegedly travelled with him from South Africa to Angola, directing weapons originating in Eastern Europe . In return, UNITA gave Ronnie bushels of diamonds worth US$ 6 million. De Deker sent the diamonds to De Beer's buying office in Antwerp , Belgium . De Beers openly acknowledges spending $ 500 million on legal and illegal Angolan diamonds in 1992 alone. The United Nations estimates Angolans made between three and four billion dollars through

854-648: A large-scale military intervention nicknamed Operation Carlota in support of the MPLA. Cuba had initially provided the MPLA with 230 military advisers prior to the South African intervention. The Cuban intervention proved decisive in repelling the South African-UNITA advance. The FNLA were likewise routed at the Battle of Quifangondo and forced to retreat towards Zaire. The defeat of the FNLA allowed

976-459: A massive influx of Bantu people who came from the north and east. The Bantu influx began around 500 BC, and some continued their migrations inside the territory well into the 20th century. They established a number of major political units, of which the most important was the Kongo Empire , whose centre was located in the northwest of what today is Angola and which stretched northwards into

1098-506: A matter of subsequent agreement as to which territories in the foregoing territories will be brought under the trusteeship system and under what terms". The UN requested all former League of Nations mandates be surrendered to its Trusteeship Council in anticipation of their independence. South Africa declined to do so and instead requested permission from the UN to formally annex South West Africa, for which it received considerable criticism. When

1220-552: A meager $ 15 million-worth of non-military aid. American timidity during the war prompted a shift in Zaire's foreign policy towards greater engagement with France, which became Zaire's largest supplier of arms after the intervention. Neto and Mobutu signed a border agreement on 22 July 1977. John Stockwell , the CIA's station chief in Angola, resigned after the invasion, explaining in

1342-537: A reporter for The New York Times , revealed IA Feature to the public on 13 December 1975. Clark proposed an amendment to the Arms Export Control Act , barring aid to private groups engaged in military or paramilitary operations in Angola. The Senate passed the bill, voting 54–22 on 19 December 1975, and the House of Representatives passed the bill, voting 323–99 on 27 January 1976. Ford signed

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1464-520: A sewage-to-water treatment project in Namibia not only provides citizens with safe drinking water, but also boosts productivity by 6% per year. All pollutants and impurities are removed using cutting-edge "multi-barrier" technology, which includes residual chlorination, ozone treatment, and ultra membrane filtration. Strict bio-monitoring methods are also used throughout the process to ensure high-quality, safe drinking water. On 8 June 2023, Namibia became

1586-604: A stronger alliance with UNITA than all other African leaders. The Rwandan and Gabonese governments refueled UNITA airplanes and sent fuel to Angola. The governments of South Africa , Zambia , Côte d'Ivoire , Morocco and Belgium did not enforce the UN-travel ban on UNITA officials while France , Portugal , Germany , Switzerland , and the United States allowed UNITA to maintain offices in their respective countries. The UN had no powers to enforce compliance with

1708-489: A westerly and southwesterly direction to as little as 50 mm (2 in) and less per annum at the coast. The only perennial rivers are found on the national borders with South Africa, Angola, Zambia, and the short border with Botswana in the Caprivi Strip. In the interior of the country, surface water is available only in the summer months when rivers are in flood after exceptional rainfalls. Otherwise, surface water

1830-531: Is by far the largest urban settlement in Namibia. Namibia extends from 17°S to 25°S latitude: climatically the range of the sub-Tropical High Pressure Belt. Its overall climate description is arid, descending from the Sub-Humid [mean rain above 500 mm (20 in)] through Semi-Arid [between 300 and 500 mm (12 and 20 in)] (embracing most of the waterless Kalahari) and Arid [from 150 to 300 mm (6 to 12 in)] (these three regions are inland from

1952-408: Is generally flat and the soils sandy, limiting their ability to retain water and support agriculture. The Kalahari Desert, an arid region that extends into South Africa and Botswana, is one of Namibia's well-known geographical features. The Kalahari, while popularly known as a desert, has a variety of localised environments, including some verdant and technically non-desert areas. The Succulent Karoo

2074-453: Is home to over 5,000 species of plants, nearly half of them endemic ; approximately 10 percent of the world's succulents are found in the Karoo. The reason behind this high productivity and endemism may be the relatively stable nature of precipitation. Namibia's Coastal Desert is one of the oldest deserts in the world. Its sand dunes, created by the strong onshore winds, are the highest in

2196-417: Is restricted to a few large storage dams retaining and damming up these seasonal floods and their run-off. Where people do not live near perennial rivers or make use of the storage dams, they are dependent on groundwater. Even isolated communities and those economic activities located far from good surface water sources, such as mining, agriculture, and tourism, can be supplied from groundwater over nearly 80% of

2318-576: Is significantly more productive than the Namib Desert. As summer winds are forced over the Escarpment, moisture is extracted as precipitation. The Bushveld is found in north-eastern Namibia along the Angolan border and in the Caprivi Strip. The area receives a significantly greater amount of precipitation than the rest of the country, averaging around 400 mm (16 in) per year. The area

2440-473: Is situated at the southern edge of the tropics; the Tropic of Capricorn cuts the country about in half. The winter (June – August) is generally dry. Both rainy seasons occur in summer: the small rainy season between September and November, and the big one between February and April. Humidity is low, and average rainfall varies from almost zero in the coastal desert to more than 600 mm (24 in) in

2562-589: Is thus reasonable to talk of Angola as a defined territorial entity from this point onwards. In 1961, the FNLA and the MPLA, based in neighbouring countries, began a guerrilla campaign against Portuguese rule on several fronts. The Portuguese Colonial War , which included the Angolan War of Independence , lasted until the Portuguese regime's overthrow in 1974 through a leftist military coup in Lisbon . When

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2684-718: Is widely considered a Cold War proxy conflict , as the Soviet Union and the United States, with their respective allies Cuba and South Africa , assisted the opposing factions. The conflict became closely intertwined with the Second Congo War in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo and the South African Border War . Land mines still litter the countryside and contribute to

2806-465: The 1884 Berlin Conference . Several military expeditions were organized as preconditions for obtaining territory, which roughly corresponded to present-day Angola. By 1906, about 6% of that territory was effectively occupied, and the military campaigns had to continue. By the mid-1920s, the limits of the territory were finally fixed, and the last "primary resistance" was quelled in the early 1940s. It

2928-591: The Caribbean . In addition, Benguela developed commerce in ivory , wax , and honey , which they bought from Ovimbundu caravans which fetched these goods from among the Ganguela peoples in the eastern part of what is now Angola. Nonetheless, the Portuguese presence on the Angolan coast remained limited for much of the colonial period. The degree of real colonial settlement was minor, and, with few exceptions,

3050-733: The Congolese National Liberation Front (FNLC) invaded the Shaba Province (modern-day Katanga Province) in Zaire from eastern Angola on 7 March 1977. The FNLC wanted to overthrow Mobutu, and the MPLA government, suffering from Mobutu's support for the FNLA and UNITA, did not try to stop the invasion. The FNLC failed to capture Kolwezi , Zaire's economic heartland, but took Kasaji and Mutshatsha. The Zairean army (the Forces Armées Zaïroises )

3172-677: The German government acknowledge the genocide and agreed to pay €1.1 billion over 30 years in community aid. During World War I, South African troops under General Louis Botha occupied the territory and deposed the German colonial administration. The end of the war and the Treaty of Versailles resulted in South West Africa remaining a possession of South Africa, at first as a League of Nations mandate , until 1990. The mandate system

3294-635: The Herero and the Namaqua took up arms against ruthless German settlers. In a calculated punitive action by the German settlers, government officials ordered the extinction of the natives in the OvaHerero and Namaqua genocide . In what has been called the "first genocide of the 20th century", the Germans systematically killed 10,000 Nama (half the population) and approximately 65,000 Herero (about 80% of

3416-472: The Kongo Empire , maintaining a continuous presence in its territory and enjoying considerable cultural and religious influence after that. In 1575, Portugal established a settlement and fort called Saint Paul of Luanda on the coast south of the Kongo Empire, in an area inhabited by Ambundu people. Another fort, Benguela , was established on the coast further south, in a region inhabited by ancestors of

3538-712: The National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA), having fought the MPLA with UNITA during the Angolan War of Independence , played almost no role in the Civil War. Additionally, the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC), an association of separatist militant groups, fought for the independence of the province of Cabinda from Angola. With the assistance of Cuban soldiers and Soviet support,

3660-510: The Ovimbundu of central Angola, who constituted about one-third of the country's population, but the organization also had roots among several less numerous peoples of eastern Angola. UNITA was founded in 1966 by Jonas Savimbi , who until then had been a prominent leader of the FNLA. During the anti-colonial war, UNITA received some support from the People's Republic of China. With the onset of

3782-532: The Ovimbundu people. Neither of these Portuguese settlement efforts was launched for the purpose of territorial conquest. Both gradually came to occupy and farm a broad area around their initial bridgeheads (in the case of Luanda, mostly along the lower Kwanza River ). Their main function was in the Atlantic slave trade . Slaves were bought from African intermediaries and sold to Portuguese colonies in Brazil and

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3904-583: The SWAPO and the MPLA in the mid-1970s, and regularly raised the issue of UNITA in political discussions between the two movements. Cuban logistics were primitive, relying on a few aging commercial aircraft, small cargo ships, and large fishing vessels to support a major, long-range military operation. In early September 1975, the Cuban merchant ships Viet Nam Heroico , Isla Coral , and La Plata , loaded with troops, vehicles, and 1,000 tons of gasoline, crossed

4026-674: The Skeleton Coast to the northwest, the Namib Desert and its coastal plains to the southwest, the Orange River to the south, and the Kalahari Desert to the east. The Central Plateau is home to the highest point in Namibia at Königstein elevation 2,606 metres (8,550 ft). The Namib is a broad expanse of hyper-arid gravel plains and dunes that stretches along Namibia's entire coastline. It varies between 100 and 200 kilometres (60 and 120 mi) in width. Areas within

4148-580: The South African Border War . However, Walvis Bay and the Penguin Islands remained under South African control until 1994. Namibia is a stable parliamentary democracy . Agriculture, tourism and the mining industry  – including mining for gem diamonds, uranium , gold , silver and base metals  – form the basis of its economy , while the manufacturing sector is comparatively small. Despite significant GDP growth since its independence, poverty and inequality remain significant in

4270-530: The Soviet Union . Cuba became the MPLA's strongest ally, sending significant combat and support personnel contingents to Angola. This support, as well as that of several other countries of the Eastern Bloc , e.g. East Germany, was maintained during the Civil War. Yugoslavia provided financial military support for the MPLA, including $ 14 million in 1977, as well as Yugoslav security personnel in

4392-611: The Tripartite Accord , under pressure from both the Soviet Union and the United States. South Africa accepted Namibian independence in exchange for Cuban military withdrawal from the region and an Angolan commitment to cease all aid to PLAN. PLAN and South Africa adopted an informal ceasefire in August 1988, and a United Nations Transition Assistance Group (UNTAG) was formed to monitor the Namibian peace process and supervise

4514-554: The United Nations on 23 June 1976. Zambia forbade UNITA from launching attacks from its territory on 28 December 1976 after Angola under MPLA rule became a member of the United Nations. According to Ambassador William Scranton , the United States abstained from voting on the issue of Angola becoming a UN member state "out of respect for the sentiments expressed by its [our] African friends". About 1,500 members of

4636-698: The United Nations , the Southern African Development Community , the African Union and the Commonwealth of Nations . The name of the country is derived from the Namib desert, the oldest desert in the world. The word Namib itself is of Nama origin and means "vast place". The name was chosen by Mburumba Kerina , who originally proposed "Republic of Namib". Before Namibia became independent in 1990, its territory

4758-582: The first genocide of the 20th century. German rule ended during the First World War with a 1915 defeat by South African forces. In 1920, after the end of the war, the League of Nations mandated administration of the colony to South Africa. From 1948, with the National Party elected to power, this included South Africa applying apartheid to what was then known as South West Africa . In

4880-466: The oshanas ( Oshiwambo : flood plains) there. The worst floods so far occurred in March 2011 and displaced 21,000 people. Namibia is the driest country in sub-Saharan Africa and depends largely on groundwater. With an average rainfall of about 350 mm (14 in) per annum, the highest rainfall occurs in the Caprivi Strip in the northeast (about 600 mm (24 in) per annum) and decreases in

5002-578: The 14th century, immigrating Bantu peoples arrived as part of the Bantu expansion . From 1600 the Ovambo formed kingdoms, such as Ondonga and Oukwanyama . In 1884, the German Empire established rule over most of the territory, forming a colony known as German South West Africa . Between 1904 and 1908, German troops waged a punitive campaign against the Herero and Nama which escalated into

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5124-633: The Active Revolt during Angola's War of Independence. Factionalism within the MPLA became a major challenge to Neto's power by late 1975 and Neto gave Alves the task of once again clamping down on dissent. Alves shut down the Cabral and Henda Committees while expanding his influence within the MPLA through his control of the nation's newspapers and state-run television. Alves visited the Soviet Union in October 1976, and may have obtained Soviet support for

5246-451: The African continent. In December 2014, Prime Minister Hage Geingob , the candidate of ruling SWAPO, won the presidential elections , taking 87% of the vote. His predecessor, President Hifikepunye Pohamba , also of SWAPO, had served the maximum two terms allowed by the constitution. In December 2019, President Hage Geingob was re-elected for a second term, taking 56.3% of the vote. On 4 February 2024, President Hage Geingob died and he

5368-470: The April 1977 The Washington Post article "Why I'm Leaving the CIA" that he had warned Secretary of State Henry Kissinger that continued American support for anti-government rebels in Angola could provoke a war with Zaire. He also said that covert Soviet involvement in Angola came after, and in response to, U.S. involvement. The FNLC invaded Shaba again on 11 May 1978, capturing Kolwezi in two days. While

5490-478: The Atlantic Ocean, which accounts for very low precipitation (50 mm (2 in) per year or less), frequent dense fog, and overall lower temperatures than in the rest of the country. In Winter, occasionally a condition known as Bergwind (German for "mountain wind") or Oosweer ( Afrikaans for "east weather") occurs, a hot dry wind blowing from the inland to the coast. As the area behind

5612-528: The Atlantic and sailed to Angola. The United States held a secret, high-level talk with Cuba to express its consternation over Cuba's actions, but this had little effect. The Cuban troops landed in early October. On 7 November, Cuba began a thirteen-day airlift of a 650-man special forces battalion. The Cubans used old Bristol Britannia turboprop aircraft, making refueling stops in Barbados, Guinea-Bissau, and

5734-400: The Caprivi Strip. Rainfall is highly variable, and droughts are common. In the summer of 2006/07 the rainfall was recorded far below the annual average. In May 2019, Namibia declared a state of emergency in response to the drought, and extended it by an additional 6 months in October 2019. Weather and climate in the coastal area are dominated by the cold, north-flowing Benguela Current of

5856-412: The Carter Administration had accepted Cuba's insistence on its non-involvement in Shaba I, and therefore did not stand with Mobutu, the U.S. government now accused Castro of complicity. This time, when Mobutu appealed for foreign assistance, the U.S. government worked with the French and Belgian militaries to beat back the invasion, the first military cooperation between France and the United States since

5978-531: The Congo joined the Cubans on 12 November. The Soviet leadership expressly forbade the Cubans from intervening in Angola's civil war, focusing the mission on containing South Africa. In 1975 and 1976 most foreign forces, with the exception of Cuba, withdrew. The last elements of the Portuguese military withdrew in 1975 and the South African military withdrew in February 1976. Cuba's troop force in Angola increased from 5,500 in December 1975 to 11,000 in February 1976. Sweden provided humanitarian assistance to both

6100-484: The Congo before landing in Luanda. The troops traveled as "tourists," carrying machine guns in briefcases. They packed 75mm cannons, 82mm mortars, and small arms into the aircraft's cargo holds. On 14 October, four South African columns totaling 3,000 troops launched Operation Savannah in an attempt to capture Luanda from the south. The Cubans suffered major reversals, including one at Catofe, where South African forces surprised them and caused numerous casualties. However,

6222-408: The Cubans ultimately halted the South African advance by 26 November. Later, another 4,000 South African soldiers entered southern Angola to establish a buffer zone along the Namibian border. The MPLA received support from 3,000 Katangan exiles, a Mozambican battalion, 3,000 East German personnel, and 1,000 Soviet advisors. The pivotal intervention came from 18,000 Cuban troops, who defeated the FNLA in

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6344-430: The FNLA and UNITA. Zaire, in a bid to install a pro- Kinshasa government and thwart the MPLA's drive for power, deployed armored cars, paratroopers, and three infantry battalions to Angola in support of the FNLA. Within three weeks, South African and UNITA forces had captured five provincial capitals, including Novo Redondo and Benguela . In response to the South African intervention, Cuba sent 18,000 soldiers as part of

6466-403: The FNLA, was mainly composed of Ovimbundu people , Angola's largest ethnic group, from the Bié Plateau . Since its formation in the 1950s, the MPLA's main social base has been among the Ambundu people and the multiracial intelligentsia of cities such as Luanda , Benguela and Huambo . During its anti-colonial struggle of 1962–1974, the MPLA was supported by several African countries and

6588-440: The FNLC. The counter-invasion force pushed the last of the militants, along with numerous refugees, into Angola and Zambia in April 1977. Mobutu accused the MPLA, Cuban and Soviet governments of complicity in the war. While Neto did support the FNLC, the MPLA government's support came in response to Mobutu's continued support for Angola's FNLA. The Carter Administration , unconvinced of Cuban involvement, responded by offering

6710-427: The Ford administration could use diplomacy to campaign against foreign aid to the communist MPLA, refuse to take sides in factional fighting, or increase support for the FNLA and UNITA. He warned that supporting UNITA would not sit well with Mobutu Sese Seko , the president of Zaire. Dick Clark , a Democratic Senator from Iowa , discovered the operation during a fact-finding mission in Africa, but Seymour Hersh ,

6832-409: The French government, declared the independence of the Republic of Cabinda from Paris . The FNLA and UNITA forged an alliance on 23 November, proclaiming their own coalition government, the Democratic People's Republic of Angola , based in Huambo with Holden Roberto and Jonas Savimbi as co-presidents , and José Ndelé and Johnny Pinnock Eduardo as co-Prime Ministers . In early November 1975,

6954-444: The Lomba River in September and laid siege to Cuito Cuanavale for months until 12,000 Cuban troops broke the blockade in March 1988. On 26 June, South African forces engaged Cuban forces at Techipa, killing several Cuban troops. In response, Cuba launched an air strike on SADF positions the following day, killing nearly a dozen South African troops. Both sides promptly withdrew to prevent further escalation of hostilities. President of

7076-436: The MPLA and Zairean governments led to a peace accord in 1979 and an end to support for insurgencies in each other's respective countries. Zaire temporarily cut off support to the FLEC, the FNLA and UNITA, and Angola forbade further activity by the FNLC. By the late 1970s, Interior Minister Nito Alves had become a powerful member of the MPLA government. Alves had successfully put down Daniel Chipenda 's Eastern Revolt and

7198-493: The MPLA managed to win the initial phase of conventional fighting, oust the FNLA from Luanda , and become the de facto Angolan government. The FNLA disintegrated, but the U.S.- and South Africa-backed UNITA continued its irregular warfare against the MPLA government from its base in the east and south of the country. The 27-year war can be divided roughly into three periods of major fighting – from 1975 to 1991, 1992 to 1994 and from 1998 to 2002 – with fragile periods of peace. By

7320-433: The MPLA to consolidate power over the capital Luanda . Agostinho Neto , the leader of the MPLA, declared the independence of the Portuguese Overseas Province of Angola as the People's Republic of Angola on 11 November 1975. UNITA declared Angolan independence as the Social Democratic Republic of Angola based in Huambo , and the FNLA declared the Democratic Republic of Angola based in Ambriz . FLEC, armed and backed by

7442-547: The MPLA. After the Carnation Revolution in Lisbon and the end of the Angolan War of Independence , the parties of the conflict signed the Alvor Accords on 15 January 1975. In July 1975, the MPLA violently forced the FNLA out of Luanda, and UNITA voluntarily withdrew to its stronghold in the south. By August, the MPLA had control of 11 of the 15 provincial capitals, including Cabinda and Luanda . South Africa intervened on 23 October, sending between 1,500 and 2,000 troops from Namibia into southern Angola in order to support

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7564-411: The Namib include the Skeleton Coast and the Kaokoveld in the north and the extensive Namib Sand Sea along the central coast. The Great Escarpment swiftly rises to over 2,000 metres (7,000 ft). Average temperatures and temperature ranges increase further inland from the cold Atlantic waters, while the lingering coastal fogs slowly diminish. Although the area is rocky with poorly developed soils, it

7686-445: The Namibian government has promoted a policy of national reconciliation. It issued an amnesty for those who fought on either side during the liberation war. The civil war in Angola spilled over and adversely affected Namibians living in the north of the country. In 1998, Namibia Defence Force (NDF) troops were sent to the Democratic Republic of the Congo as part of a Southern African Development Community (SADC) contingent. In 1999,

7808-467: The Nitistas, and ordered the commission to issue a report of its findings in March 1977. Alves and Chief of Staff José Van-Dunem, his political ally, began planning a coup d'état against Neto. Namibia Namibia ( / n ə ˈ m ɪ b i ə / , / n æ ˈ -/ ), officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in Southern Africa . Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean . It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to

7930-410: The Oorlam very well, granting them the right to use waterholes and grazing against an annual payment. On their way further north, however, the Oorlam encountered clans of the OvaHerero at Windhoek, Gobabis , and Okahandja , who resisted their encroachment. The Nama-Herero War broke out in 1880, with hostilities ebbing only after the German Empire deployed troops to the contested places and cemented

8052-428: The Portuguese did not interfere by means other than commercial in the social and political dynamics of the native peoples. There was no real delimitation of territory; Angola, to all intents and purposes, did not yet exist. In the 19th century, the Portuguese began a more serious program of advancing into the continental interior. They wanted a de facto overlordship that allowed them to establish commercial networks and

8174-445: The Portuguese did not try to claim the area. Like most of the interior of Sub-Saharan Africa , Namibia was not extensively explored by Europeans until the 19th century. At that time traders and settlers came principally from Germany and Sweden. In 1870, Finnish missionaries came to the northern part of Namibia to spread the Lutheran religion among the Ovambo and Kavango people . In the late 19th century, Dorsland Trekkers crossed

8296-423: The San people as hunter-gatherers . Around the 14th century, immigrating Bantu people began to arrive during the Bantu expansion from central Africa. From the late 18th century onward, Oorlam people from Cape Colony crossed the Orange River and moved into the area that today is southern Namibia. Their encounters with the nomadic Nama tribes were largely peaceful. They received the missionaries accompanying

8418-490: The South African government warned Savimbi and Roberto that the South African Defence Force (SADF) would soon end operations in Angola despite the failure of the coalition to capture Luanda and therefore secure international recognition for their government. Savimbi, desperate to avoid the withdrawal of South Africa, asked General Constand Viljoen to arrange a meeting for him with Prime Minister of South Africa John Vorster , who had been Savimbi's ally since October 1974. On

8540-515: The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming that, in accordance with the desires of its people, South West Africa be renamed Namibia . United Nations Security Council Resolution 269 , adopted in August 1969, declared South Africa's continued occupation of Namibia illegal. In recognition of this landmark decision, SWAPO's armed wing was renamed the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN). Namibia became one of several flashpoints for Cold War proxy conflicts in southern Africa during

8662-488: The UN General Assembly rejected this proposal, South Africa dismissed its opinion and began solidifying control of the territory. The UN General Assembly and Security Council responded by referring the issue to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which held a number of discussions on the legality of South African rule between 1949 and 1966. South Africa began imposing apartheid , its codified system of racial segregation and discrimination, on South West Africa during

8784-763: The United States Gerald Ford approved covert aid to UNITA and the FNLA through Operation IA Feature on 18 July 1975, despite strong opposition from officials in the State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Ford told William Colby , the Director of Central Intelligence , to establish the operation, providing an initial US$ 6 million. He granted an additional $ 8 million on 27 July and another $ 25 million in August. Two days before

8906-672: The Vietnam War. The French Foreign Legion took back Kolwezi after a seven-day battle and airlifted 2,250 European citizens to Belgium, but not before the FNLC massacred 80 Europeans and 200 Africans. In one instance, the FNLC killed 34 European civilians who had hidden in a room. The FNLC retreated to Zambia, vowing to return to Angola. The Zairean army then forcibly evicted civilians along Shaba's border with Angola. Mobutu, wanting to prevent any chance of another invasion, ordered his troops to shoot on sight. U.S.-mediated negotiations between

9028-602: The area on their way from the Transvaal to Angola. Some of them settled in Namibia instead of continuing their journey. Namibia became a German colony in 1884 under Otto von Bismarck to forestall perceived British encroachment and was known as German South West Africa ( Deutsch-Südwestafrika ). The Palgrave Commission by the British governor in Cape Town determined that only the natural deep-water harbour of Walvis Bay

9150-637: The bill into law on 9 February 1976. Even after the Clark Amendment became law, then- Director of Central Intelligence , George H. W. Bush , refused to concede that all U.S. aid to Angola had ceased. According to foreign affairs analyst Jane Hunter, Israel stepped in as a proxy arms supplier for South Africa after the Clark Amendment took effect. Israel and South Africa established a longstanding military alliance, in which Israel provided weapons and training, as well as conducting joint military exercises. The U.S. government vetoed Angolan entry into

9272-608: The civil war, the United States decided to support UNITA and considerably augmented their aid to UNITA in the following decades. In the latter period, UNITA's main ally was the apartheid regime of South Africa . Angola, like most African countries, became constituted as a nation through colonial intervention. Angola's colonial power was Portugal, which was present and active in the territory, in one way or another, for over four centuries. The original population of this territory were dispersed Khoisan groups. These were absorbed or pushed southwards, where residual groups still exist, by

9394-502: The coast is a desert, these winds can develop into sand storms, leaving sand deposits in the Atlantic Ocean that are visible on satellite images. The Central Plateau and Kalahari areas have wide diurnal temperature ranges of up to 30C (54F). Efundja , the annual seasonal flooding of the northern parts of the country, often causes not only damage to infrastructure but loss of life. The rains that cause these floods originate in Angola, flow into Namibia's Cuvelai-Etosha Basin , and fill

9516-529: The country and diplomatic training for Angolans in Belgrade . The United States Ambassador to Yugoslavia wrote of the Yugoslav relationship with the MPLA and remarked, " Tito clearly enjoys his role as patriarch of guerrilla liberation struggle." Agostinho Neto , MPLA's leader during the civil war, declared in 1977 that Yugoslav aid was constant and firm and described the help as extraordinary. According to

9638-524: The country, the national economy began to sink into depression . The South African government initially became involved in an effort to counter the Chinese presence in Angola, which was feared might escalate the conflict into a local theatre of the Cold War . In 1975, South African Prime Minister B.J. Vorster authorized Operation Savannah , which began as an effort to protect engineers constructing

9760-649: The country. More than 100,000 boreholes have been drilled in Namibia over the past century. One third of these boreholes have been drilled dry. An aquifer called Ohangwena II, on both sides of the Angola-Namibia border, was discovered in 2012. It has been estimated to be capable of supplying a population of 800,000 people in the North for 400 years, at the current (2018) rate of consumption. Experts estimate that Namibia has 7,720 km (1,850 cu mi) of underground water. According to African Folder,

9882-406: The country. 40.9% of the population is affected by multidimensional poverty , and more than 400,000 people continue to live in informal housing . Income disparity in the country is one of the world's highest with a Gini coefficient of 59.1 in 2015. With a population of 3,022,401 people today, Namibia is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world. Namibia is a member state of

10004-458: The dam at Calueque after unruly UNITA soldiers took over. The dam, paid for by South Africa, was felt to be at risk. The South African Defence Force (SADF) dispatched an armoured task force to secure Calueque. From this, Operation Savannah escalated; no formal government was in place and thus, no clear lines of authority. The South Africans came to commit thousands of soldiers to the intervention and ultimately clashed with Cuban forces assisting

10126-466: The diamond trade between 1992 and 1998. The UN also estimates that out of that sum, UNITA made at least $ 3.72 billion, or 93% of all diamond sales, despite international sanctions. Togolese President Gnassingbé Eyadéma allowed UNITA to use Togo as a base of operations. He gave money to relatives of Jonas Savimbi and shipped arms to UNITA militants. The report condemned Burkinabé President Blaise Compaoré for sending fuel to UNITA and maintaining

10248-600: The downfall of the Herero in Namibia was a model for the Nazis in the Holocaust . The memory of what happened under German rule has contributed to shape the ethnic identity in independent Namibia and has kept its significance in today's relations with Germany. The German minister for development aid apologised for the Namibian genocide in 2004. However, the German government distanced itself from this apology. Only in 2021 did

10370-474: The government of Mobutu Sese Seko in Zaire . During 1974, the FNLA was also briefly supported by the People's Republic of China ; but the aid was quickly withdrawn since China mainly supported the UNITA during the Angolan War of Independence . The United States refused to support the FNLA during the movement's war against Portugal, a NATO member but agreed during the civil war. UNITA's main social basis were

10492-434: The last South African troops had been withdrawn from Namibia, all political prisoners granted amnesty, racially discriminatory legislation repealed, and 42,000 Namibian refugees returned to their homes. Just over 97% of eligible voters participated in the country's first parliamentary elections held under a universal franchise . The United Nations plan included oversight by foreign election observers in an effort to ensure

10614-543: The late 1940s. Black South West Africans were subject to pass laws , curfews, and a host of residential regulations that restricted their movement. Development was concentrated in the southern region of the territory adjacent to South Africa, known as the " Police Zone ", where most of the major settlements and commercial economic activity were located. Outside the Police Zone, indigenous peoples were restricted to theoretically self-governing tribal homelands . During

10736-627: The late 1950s and early 1960s, the accelerated decolonisation of Africa and mounting pressure on the remaining colonial powers to grant their colonies self-determination resulted in the formation of nascent nationalist parties in South West Africa. Movements such as the South West African National Union (SWANU) and the South West African People's Organisation (SWAPO) advocated for the formal termination of South Africa's mandate and independence for

10858-508: The later 20th century, uprisings and demands for political representation resulted in the United Nations assuming direct responsibility over the territory in 1966, but South Africa maintained de facto rule until 1973, when the UN recognised the South West Africa People's Organisation ( SWAPO ) as the official representative of the Namibian people. Namibia gained independence from South Africa on 21 March 1990, following

10980-512: The latter years of the PLAN insurgency. The insurgents sought out weapons and sent recruits to the Soviet Union for military training. As the PLAN war effort gained momentum, the Soviet Union and other sympathetic states such as Cuba continued to increase their support, deploying advisers to train the insurgents directly as well as supplying more weapons and ammunition. SWAPO's leadership, dependent on Soviet, Angolan, and Cuban military aid, positioned

11102-639: The least rainfall of any country in sub-Saharan Africa. The Namibian landscape consists generally of five geographical areas, each with characteristic abiotic conditions and vegetation, with some variation within and overlap between them: the Central Plateau, the Namib, the Great Escarpment , the Bushveld , and the Kalahari Desert. The Central Plateau runs from north to south, bordered by

11224-641: The mandate as a veiled annexation and made no attempt to prepare South West Africa for future autonomy. As a result of the Conference on International Organization in 1945, the League of Nations was formally superseded by the United Nations (UN) and former League mandates by a trusteeship system. Article 77 of the United Nations Charter stated that UN trusteeship "shall apply...to territories now held under mandate"; furthermore, it would "be

11346-524: The movement firmly within the socialist bloc by 1975. This practical alliance reinforced the external perception of SWAPO as a Soviet proxy, which dominated Cold War rhetoric in South Africa and the United States. For its part, the Soviet Union supported SWAPO partly because it viewed South Africa as a regional Western ally. Growing war weariness and the reduction of tensions between the superpowers compelled South Africa, Angola, and Cuba to accede to

11468-490: The national assembly). The country officially became independent on 21 March 1990. Sam Nujoma was sworn in as the first President of Namibia at a ceremony attended by Nelson Mandela of South Africa (who had been released from prison the previous month) and representatives from 147 countries, including 20 heads of state. In 1994, shortly before the first multiracial elections in South Africa, that country ceded Walvis Bay to Namibia. Since independence Namibia has completed

11590-515: The national government quashed a secessionist attempt in the northeastern Caprivi Strip . The Caprivi conflict was initiated by the Caprivi Liberation Army (CLA), a rebel group led by Mishake Muyongo . It wanted the Caprivi Strip to secede and form its own society. In 2007, Twyfelfontein was inscribed as a cultural UNESCO World Heritage Site , a prehistoric site with one of the largest concentrations of rock engravings on

11712-513: The night of 10 November, the day before the formal declaration of independence, Savimbi secretly flew to Pretoria to meet Vorster. In a reversal of policy, Vorster not only agreed to keep his troops in Angola through November, but also promised to withdraw the SADF only after the OAU meeting on 9 December. While Cuban officers led the mission and provided the bulk of the troop force, 60 Soviet officers in

11834-584: The north and UNITA in the south, concluding the conventional war by 12 February 1976. In Cabinda, the Cubans launched a series of successful operations against the FLEC separatist movement. By March 1977, the MPLA controlled enough of the country to permit Castro to pay a state visit. However, in May, Nito Alves and José Jacinto Van-Dúnem attempted an unsuccessful coup against Agostinho Neto. Cuban troops helped defeat

11956-598: The north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the east and south. Although it does not border Zimbabwe , less than 200 metres (660 feet) of the Botswanan right bank of the Zambezi River separates the two countries. Its capital and largest city is Windhoek . The driest country in sub-Saharan Africa , Namibia has been inhabited since pre-historic times by the Khoi , San , Damara and Nama people . Around

12078-501: The ongoing civilian casualties. Angola's three rebel movements had their roots in the anti-colonial movements of the 1950s. The MPLA was primarily an urban-based movement in Luanda and its surrounding area. It was largely composed of Mbundu people . By contrast, the other two major anti-colonial movements, the FNLA and UNITA, were rural groups. The FNLA primarily consisted of Bakongo people from Northern Angola. UNITA, an offshoot of

12200-464: The population). The survivors, when finally released from detention, were subjected to a policy of dispossession, deportation, forced labour, racial segregation, and discrimination in a system that in many ways foreshadowed the apartheid established by South Africa in 1948. Most Africans were confined to so-called native territories, which under South African rule after 1949 were turned into "homelands" ( Bantustans ). Some historians have speculated that

12322-529: The program's approval, Nathaniel Davis , the Assistant Secretary of State, told Henry Kissinger , the Secretary of State , that he believed maintaining the secrecy of IA Feature would be impossible. Davis correctly predicted the Soviet Union would respond by increasing involvement in the Angolan conflict, leading to more violence and negative publicity for the United States. When Ford approved

12444-431: The program, Davis resigned. John Stockwell , the CIA's station chief in Angola, echoed Davis' criticism saying that success required the expansion of the program, but its size already exceeded what could be hidden from the public eye. Davis' deputy, former U.S. ambassador to Chile Edward Mulcahy , also opposed direct involvement. Mulcahy presented three options for U.S. policy towards Angola on 13 May 1975. Mulcahy believed

12566-538: The rebels. In May 1978, South Africa initiated Operation Reindeer, during which an airstrike on a Cuban convoy resulted in the loss of 150 Cuban troops. By July 1978, Cuba had suffered 5,600 casualties in its African wars (Angola and Ethiopia), including 1,000 killed in Angola and 400 killed against Somali forces in the Ethiopian Ogaden. In 1987, 6,000 South African soldiers reentered the Angolan war, clashing with Cuban forces. They defeated four MPLA brigades at

12688-412: The return of refugees. The ceasefire was broken after PLAN made a final incursion into the territory, possibly as a result of misunderstanding UNTAG's directives, in March 1989. A new ceasefire was later imposed with the condition that the insurgents were to be confined to their external bases in Angola until they could be disarmed and demobilised by UNTAG. By the end of the 11-month transition period,

12810-1470: The sanctions, so the report instead set out to name and shame the countries, companies and individuals involved, and thereby led directly to the passing of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1295 and the subsequent establishment of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme Kimberly Process Authority Chairman Is Determined by Member voting (United Nations General Assembly Resolution 55/56). Angolan civil war MPLA victory [REDACTED] People's Republic of Angola / Republic of Angola [REDACTED]   Cuba (1975–1989) [REDACTED] SWAPO (1975–1989) [REDACTED] ANC (1975–1989) Executive Outcomes (1993–1995) [REDACTED] FLNC (1975–2001) [REDACTED]   Namibia (2001–2002) [REDACTED] Democratic People's Republic of Angola [REDACTED] FNLA (1976–1978) [REDACTED]   South Africa (1975–1989) [REDACTED]   Zaire (1975) [REDACTED] MPLA troops: [REDACTED] Cuban troops: [REDACTED] Soviet troops : [REDACTED] UNITA militants: [REDACTED] FNLA militants: [REDACTED] South African troops : The Angolan Civil War ( Portuguese : Guerra Civil Angolana )

12932-560: The south of the territory, and the north of present-day Namibia , lay the Kwanyama kingdom, along with minor realms on the central highlands. All these political units were a reflection of ethnic cleavages that slowly developed among the Bantu populations and were instrumental in consolidating these cleavages and fostering the emergence of new and distinct social identities. At the end of the 15th century, Portuguese settlers made contact with

13054-568: The status quo among the Nama, Oorlam, and Herero. In 1878, the Cape of Good Hope , then a British colony, annexed the port of Walvis Bay and the offshore Penguin Islands ; these became an integral part of the new Union of South Africa at its creation in 1910. The first Europeans to disembark and explore the region were the Portuguese navigators Diogo Cão in 1485 and Bartolomeu Dias in 1486, but

13176-562: The striking workers would later join SWAPO's PLAN as part of the South African Border War. As SWAPO's insurgency intensified, South Africa's case for annexation in the international community continued to decline. The UN declared that South Africa had failed in its obligations to ensure the moral and material well-being of South West Africa's indigenous inhabitants, and had thus disavowed its own mandate. On 12 June 1968,

13298-450: The territory. In 1966, following the ICJ's controversial ruling that it had no legal standing to consider the question of South African rule, SWAPO launched an armed insurgency that escalated into part of a wider regional conflict known as the South African Border War . In 1971 Namibian contract workers led a general strike against the contract system and in support of independence. Some of

13420-450: The time the MPLA achieved victory in 2002, between 500,000 and 800,000 people had died and over one million had been internally displaced . The war devastated Angola's infrastructure and severely damaged public administration, the economy, and religious institutions. The Angolan Civil War was notable due to the combination of Angola's violent internal dynamics and the exceptional degree of foreign military and political involvement. The war

13542-451: The timeline for independence became known, most of the roughly 500,000 ethnic Portuguese Angolans fled the territory during the weeks before or after that deadline. Portugal left behind a newly independent country whose population was mainly composed of Ambundu, Ovimbundu, and Bakongo peoples. The Portuguese that lived in Angola accounted for the majority of the skilled workers in public administration, agriculture, and industry; once they fled

13664-569: The transition from white minority apartheid rule to parliamentary democracy. Multiparty democracy was introduced and has been maintained, with local, regional and national elections held regularly. Several registered political parties are active and represented in the National Assembly, although the SWAPO has won every election since independence. The transition from the 15-year rule of President Nujoma to his successor Hifikepunye Pohamba in 2005 went smoothly. Since independence,

13786-584: The west of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the south and west of the contemporary Republic of Congo and even the southernmost part of Gabon . Also of historical importance were the Ndongo and Matamba kingdoms to the south of the Kongo Empire, in the Ambundu area. Additionally, the Lunda Empire occupied a portion of north-eastern Angola in the south-east of the present-day DRC. In

13908-460: The western escarpment ) to the Hyper-Arid coastal plain [less than 100 mm (4 in)]. Temperature maxima are limited by the overall elevation of the entire region: only in the far south, Warmbad for instance, are maxima above 40 °C (104 °F) recorded. Typically the sub-Tropical High Pressure Belt, with frequent clear skies, provides more than 300 days of sunshine per year. It

14030-522: The world. Because of the location of the shoreline, at the point where the Atlantic's cold water reaches Africa's hot climate, often extremely dense fog forms along the coast. Near the coast there are areas where the dune-hummocks are vegetated. Namibia has rich coastal and marine resources that remain largely unexplored. The Caprivi Strip extends east from the northeastern corner of the country. Namibia has 13 cities, governed by municipalities and 26 towns, governed by town councils. The capital Windhoek

14152-763: Was a civil war in Angola , beginning in 1975 and continuing, with interludes, until 2002. The war began immediately after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. It was a power struggle between two former anti-colonial guerrilla movements, the communist People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and the anti-communist National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). The MPLA and UNITA had different roots in Angolan society and mutually incompatible leaderships, despite their shared aim of ending colonial rule. A third movement,

14274-465: Was able to continue financing the conflict; the UN therefore passed United Nations Security Council Resolution 1237 , which gave Robert Fowler's panel of experts a mandate to investigate how the sanctions were being circumvented. According to the Fowler Report, UNITA used a number of channels to sell or barter diamonds for cash or weapons. In one of the schemes that was identified, Joe de Deker,

14396-635: Was defeated without difficulty and the FNLC continued to advance. On 2 April, Mobutu appealed to William Eteki of Cameroon , Chairman of the Organization of African Unity , for assistance. Eight days later, the French government responded to Mobutu's plea and airlifted 1,500 Moroccan troops into Kinshasa . This force worked in conjunction with the Zairean army, the FNLA and Egyptian pilots flying French-made Zairean Mirage fighter aircraft to beat back

14518-436: Was formed as a compromise between those who advocated for an Allied annexation of former German and Ottoman territories and a proposition put forward by those who wished to grant them to an international trusteeship until they could govern themselves. It permitted the South African government to administer South West Africa until that territory's inhabitants were prepared for political self-determination. South Africa interpreted

14640-459: Was immediately succeeded by vice-president Nangolo Mbumba as new President of Namibia. At 825,615 km (318,772 sq mi), Namibia is the world's thirty-fourth largest country (after Venezuela). It lies mostly between latitudes 17° and 29°S (a small area is north of 17°), and longitudes 11° and 26°E . Being situated between the Namib and the Kalahari deserts, Namibia has

14762-578: Was known first as German South-West Africa ( Deutsch-Südwestafrika ), and then as South West Africa , reflecting its colonial occupation by Germans and South Africans, respectively. The dry lands of Namibia have been inhabited since prehistoric times by the San , Damara , and Nama . For thousands of years, the Khoisan peoples of Southern Africa maintained a nomadic life, the Khoikhoi as pastoralists and

14884-519: Was worth occupying and thus annexed it to the Cape province of British South Africa. In 1897, a rinderpest epidemic caused massive cattle die-offs of an estimated 95% of cattle in southern and central Namibia. In response the German colonisers set up a veterinary cordon fence known as the Red Line . In 1907 this fence then broadly defined the boundaries for the first Police Zone. From 1904 to 1907,

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