The
Angolan Civil War was a major
civil conflict in the African country of
Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with some interludes, until 2002. The war began immediately after Angola became independent from
Portugal in November 1975. Prior to this, a
decolonisation conflict, the
Angolan War of Independence (1961–74), had taken place. The following civil war was essentially a power struggle between two former liberation movements, the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (
MPLA) and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (
UNITA). At the same time, the war served as a
surrogate battleground for the
Cold War and large-scale direct and indirect international involvement by opposing powers such as the
Soviet Union,
Cuba,
South Africa and the
United States was a major feature of the conflict.