55 Day War
| 55 Day War | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Angolan Civil War | |||||||
 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
Supported by: France[1] |
Supported by: Zimbabwe Ghana Guinea[1] | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 João de Matos Higino Carneiro |
 Jonas Savimbi Demosthenes Amos Chilingutila | ||||||
The 55-day war was a battle in the city of Huambo between the rebel forces of UNITA led by Arlindo Pena and the MPLA-led Angolan government. The 55-day war lasted between 9 January 1993 and 6 Mach 1993, resulting in UNITA emerging victorious and the destruction of most of the city.
Background
After UNITA’s defeat in the 1992 Angolan general election, UNITA rejected the election outcome and resumed hostilities. After the eruption of Hostilities, UNITA began a new offensive, this offensive targeted a number of provincial capitals including Kuito, Huambo, Malange, Luena, and Menongue, and aimed to force the MPLA into further concessions.[2]
Battle
The Battle began on 9 January 1993 when UNITA launched an assault to take the city with 20,000 soldiers and 8,000-10,000 armed militia. UNTIA was able to take the city before being driven out of most the city the same day, fighting remained in the residential areas of the city, by January 11th 100 people had already been killed.[3] UNITA soon launch another attack to take the city leading to heavy fighting.[4] Two member of the United Nations monitoring force was injured in the fighting. UNITA claimed to have destroyed an ammunition depo on 16 January.[5]
See also
References
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
Battersbywas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Angolan Rebels Win Concessions After War Gains". The Christian Science Monitor. 22 April 1993.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ "Battle rages For Huambo". No. Vol. 3 No. 77. Namibian. 11 January 1993.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help);|issue=has extra text (help) - ^ "Unita battles to regain Huambo". No. Vol.3 No. 79. The Namibian. 13 January 1993.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help);|issue=has extra text (help) - ^ "UN withdraws from Angolan battle zones". No. Vol. 3 No. 82. The Namibian. 18 Junary 1993.
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- Bibliography
- Porto, João Gomes; Alden, Chris; Parsons, Imogen (2007). From Soldiers to Citizens: Demilitarization of Conflict and Society. Ashgate. ISBN 9780754692287. OCLC 318536876.
- Malley-Morrison, Kathleen (2009). State Violence and the Right to Peace: Western Europe and North America. Praeger Security International/ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9780275996475. OCLC 319868186.
Further reading
- "The battle for Huambo" 1993, Economist, 326, 7801, pp. 43–45.
- "Fingers crossed" 1994, Economist, 333, 7893, p. 44.
- "The ruins of rebellion" 1994, Economist, 330, 7852, pp. 44–45.