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Angola Foreign Influences
Communist Nations
The Angolan armed forces were equipped, trained, and
supported
almost exclusively by communist countries. The Soviet
Union
provided the bulk of FAPLA's armaments and some advisers,
whereas
Cuba furnished most of the technical assistance, combat
support,
and training advisory services. Cubans also participated
to a
limited extent in ground and air combat. Other communist
countries,
particularly Czechoslovakia, the German Democratic
Republic (East
Germany), Hungary, the Democratic People's Republic of
Korea (North
Korea), Poland, and Yugoslavia, also furnished arms and
related
aid. In the 1980s, Angola also obtained limited amounts of
matériel, military assistance, and training from countries
such as
Belgium, Brazil, Britain, the Federal Republic of Germany
(West
Germany), France, Spain, and Switzerland. Broadly
speaking, there
was an international division of labor in which the Soviet
Union
supplied large quantities of heavy weapons and equipment,
other
communist states furnished small arms, and the
noncommunist
suppliers provided mostly nonlethal items.
The MPLA owed its ascendancy in the civil war in large
part to
the massive Soviet airlift of arms and Cuban troops during
1975 and
1976. Subsequently, Moscow and Havana remained the
mainstays of the
regime as far as its military needs were concerned. From
1982 to
1986, the Soviet Union delivered military equipment valued
at
US$4.9 billion, which represented more than 90 percent of
Angola's
arms imports and one-fourth of all Soviet arms deliveries
to
Africa. Poland and Czechoslovakia transferred arms valued
at US$10
million and US$5 million, respectively, over the same
five-year
period. During 1987 and 1988, Moscow more than compensated
for
FAPLA losses with accelerated shipments of heavy
armaments. In
addition to the tanks noted earlier, dozens of aircraft,
heavy
weapons, and air defense systems were delivered.
Beyond matériel deliveries, Moscow and its allies
continued to
provide extensive technical aid. Soviet military,
security, and
intelligence personnel and advisers helped establish the
defense
and security forces and served as advisers at all levels,
from
ministries in Luanda to major field commands. The Soviet
Union's
civilian and military intelligence services, in
coordination with
their counterpart organizations from other communist
countries,
particularly East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Cuba,
assisted in
the creation and development of the Angolan state security
and
intelligence services.
The Soviet Union provided most of the air force pilot
and
technician training as well as technical assistance in the
operation and maintenance of the most advanced equipment:
aircraft
and warships, major weapons such as missiles, artillery,
and
rockets, and sophisticated radar and communications
equipment. The
number of Soviet service members and advisers varied. In
1988 it
was estimated by most sources to range between 1,000 and
1,500
personnel, including some fighter pilots. UNITA claimed
that the
Soviet military presence increased during 1988 to 2,500 or
3,000
and that seven officers were assigned to each FAPLA
brigade.
Cuba was the main provider of combat troops, pilots,
advisers,
engineers, and technicians. As the insurgency war
expanded, so did
Cuba's military presence. By 1982 there were 35,000 Cubans
in
Angola, of which about 27,000 were combat troops and the
remainder
advisers, instructors, and technicians. In 1985 their
strength
increased to 40,000, in 1986 to 45,000, and in 1988 to
nearly
50,000. All told, more than 300,000 Cuban soldiers had
served in
Angola since 1975. Angola paid for the services of the
Cubans at an
estimated rate of US$300 million to US$600 million
annually.
The Cuban forces, despite their numbers, generally did
not
engage directly in combat after 1976. Most of the Cubans
were
organized and deployed in motorized infantry, air defense,
and
artillery units. Their main missions were to deter and
defend
against attacks beyond the southern combat zone, protect
strategic
and economically critical sites and facilities, and
provide combat
support, such as rear-area security, logistic
coordination, air
defense, and security for major military installations and
Luanda
itself. At least 2,000 Cuban troops were stationed in
oil-producing
Cabinda Province. Cubans also trained Angolan pilots, and
flew some
combat missions against UNITA and the SADF. In addition,
Cuban
military personnel provided technical and operational
support to
SWAPO and the ANC within Angola
(see Angola as a Refuge
, this ch.).
In mid-1988 Cuba substantially reinforced its military
presence
in Angola and deployed about one-fifth of its total forces
toward
the front lines in the south for the first time. This
cohort was
reported to include commando and SAM units, which raised
concerns
about direct clashes with South African forces. The move
was
apparently made to keep UNITA and the SADF at bay and to
strengthen
the negotiating position of Luanda and Havana in the
United Statesbrokered peace talks.
East Germany and North Korea followed the Soviet Union
and Cuba
as Angola's most active and influential communist
supporters. The
East Germans played key roles in the intelligence and
security
agencies, as well as in the ideology and propaganda
organs. They
provided communications security services, technicians,
mechanics,
and instructors to maintain and operate equipment and
vehicles and
to train artillery crews, radar operators, and combat
pilots. The
East Germans also reportedly operated a training camp
south of
Luanda for ANC and SWAPO guerrillas. Estimates of the
number of
East Germans in Angola ranged from 500 to 5,000, the
higher
estimates probably including family members and other
nonmilitary
technicians and advisers.
During the 1980s, North Korea expanded and intensified
its
diplomatic and military assistance activities in Africa,
particularly in the southern part of the continent. After
training
Zimbabwe's Fifth Brigade in 1981 and 1982 and furnishing
arms to
that country, North Korea made a major military commitment
in
Angola. Although denied by Angolan officials, several
sources
reported that Luanda concluded a military aid agreement
with
Pyongyang in September 1983 that led to the dispatch of
some 3,000
North Korean combat troops and military advisers by May
1984.
The reported activities of the North Koreans included
the
training of special units, such as hit-and-run forces and
sniper
squads. North Korean troops also reportedly engaged in
combat
operations, including FAPLA's early 1986 offensive. North
Koreans
were also reported to be providing military and
ideological
instruction to SWAPO and ANC militants in five training
camps north
and northeast of Luanda.
Other communist states provided more modest military
support.
Arms deliveries by Poland and Czechoslovakia were noted
earlier. A
military cooperation agreement was signed in 1982 with
Hungary,
which was reported to have provided small arms. Yugoslavia
furnished grenade launchers, trip-wire grenades,
antipersonnel
mines, hollow-charge rockets, and air defense artillery; a
Yugoslav
firm also built a runway and other facilities at Lubango
airport.
Romania was reported to have given unspecified military
aid.
Data as of February 1989
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