Portuguese Colonial War

The issues
The nations south of the DRC/Zaire/Belgian Congo were in big trouble. Many wars and civil wars over the years due to the ongoing problems relating to the region's colonial legacy. The main problem was about the issues of communism, apartheid, the fall of the Portuguese empire, Rhodesia under Sir Ian Smith and the fate of White colonial ex-pats\business interests.

Angola


The Angolan Civil War was a major and rather bizzar, multi-fasted civil war in the African state of Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with some interludes, until 2002, due to the politically screwed up nature of the colony under Portuguese rule. It started after the Angolan War of Independence (1961–74), had taken place. At least 5,000 Cuban troops were deployed in Angola to counter interventions by South African forces during the 27-year civil war between the MPLA and UNITA.

Non-Angolan troop numbers in the civil war-
 * RSA- 20,000 (1976)
 * Cuba- 35,000 – 37,000 (1982) and 60,000 (1988)
 * Zaire- ? (1975)
 * USSR- Altogether 11,000 (1975 to 1991)
 * GDR- 7,000 (1979)

The South African Border War of 26 August 1966 to 21 March 1990, which is commonly referred to as the Angolan Bush War in South Africa, was a conflict that was largely fought in South-West Africa (now Namibia) and Angola between South Africa and its allied forces (mainly the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola, UNITA) against the Angolan government, South-West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO), and their allies (mainly Cuba).

Mozambique


The Mozambican Civil War of 30 May 1977 to 4 October 1992 began two years after the end of the war of independence due to the politically screwed up nature of the colony under Portuguese rule. It was similar to the Angolan Civil War as both were proxy wars of the Cold War that started soon after the countries gained independence from Portugal. FRELIMO and RENAMO fought it out and ruined the nation. Hundreds of thousands of people died from a war time famine that was attributable to both the war-wacky policies of the RENAMO and FRELIMO organisations.

Non-Mozambique troop numbers in the civil war- Tanzania, Zambia, Algeria, the African National Congress (ANC) armed wing, East Germany, France, the UK, the U.S. In the U.S., Kenya, Western Germany, Malawi, Rhodesia, Zimbabwe, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Taiwan, China, Libya, the Peoples' Republic of the Congo, Sweden and Brazil have all had minor or diplomatic only role in at some time in the above conflicts as well.
 * Zimbabwe 20,000 (?)
 * Tanzania 6,000 (?)

Cold War politics had noticed both mineral resources, agriculture and geopolitical interests in southern Africa.

Also see

 * 1) West Africa
 * 2) The Congo and The DRC/Zaire
 * 3) North Africa
 * 4) Horn of Africa
 * 5) Egypt
 * 6) Minerals and fuel in central Africa
 * 7) Southern Africa

Links

 * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angolan_Civil_War
 * http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13037271
 * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angolan_Civil_War
 * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozambican_Civil_War
 * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African_Border_War
 * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namibian_War_of_Independence
 * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodesian_Bush_War
 * http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/678102c2-59e0-11e4-9787-00144feab7de.html#axzz3SnS60sWm
 * http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Bush-Rhodesia-Extraordinary-Reconnaissance/dp/1581606141
 * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodesia