Cabinda

The Cabinda conflict
Cabinda is an enclave of Angola separated from the country by a strip of land of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Different independence movements have been active in this region over years, all striving for an independent Cabinda. The rebel group Front for the Liberation of the State of Cabinda (FLEC) is one of them. They became at the centre of world’s attention in January 2010, when a splinter group of this movement claimed responsibility for the deadly attack on a bus of the national Togolese football team, which was heading to the African Cup of Nations in Angola.

Origin of the Conflict
Various armed and political groups have fight for Cabinda's independence since its absorption into Angola. While by law it's a part of Angola, local rebels dispute its status, and battle for independence. Justifications range from ethnic and linguistic to economic, where the latter refers to the massive oil stock in Cabinda, sometimes referred to as being the ‘Kuwait of Africa’.  

Chronological timeframe

1885:
The relationship between Cabinda and the Angolan government has been tumultuous since the time of colonial rule. In the Treaty of Simulambuco of 1885, Cabinda was politically linked to Angola. This treaty acknowledged the distinct status of Cabinda as being an enclave of Angola but, whereas Angola was a full colony, Cabinda was a ‘protectorate’ of Portugal with privileges. Governed by Portugal, it was in 1956 when Cabinda was incorporated into Angola and brought under direct authority of the Portuguese Governor General of Angola[1]. This was the period when the first independent movements appeared, like the FLEC. They took up the arms to oppose to the region’s incorporation into Angola[2].

1975:
In 1975 Angola gained independence, after Portugal signed a treaty with the three main rebellion movements of Angola while representatives of Cabinda were not allowed to attend. In this treaty it was acknowledged that Cabinda would remain an integral part of Angola. Those three national rebel groups of Angola quickly turned on each other, and began the longest civil war in modern African history.  Meanwhile, it became apparent that in Cabinda and its coastal area massive oil fields could be found. This oil became a strategic target during the war, and the FLEC as well as two Angolan rebel groups were fighting about Cabinda.

1980s-1990s:
The FLEC took up armed struggle against the government of Angola. This capitulated in a low intensity guerrilla type war to fight for an independent Cabinda, as they never had the manpower or weaponry of a conventional army. They attacked economic targets and government troops stationed in Cabinda, and kidnapped employees working in the province’s oil and construction business[3]. During the 1980s, FLEC split up in different factions, from which FLEC-FAC remained the main armed faction. The fights continued in the 1990s as fierce as ever. Left out of the peace negotiations between the Angolan government and Angolan rebel groups, FLEC members continued the war. Meetings throughout the 1990s between the various Cabindan independence groups and the Angolan government brought no resolution to the conflict.

2002-2006:
In 2002 a ceasefire between the major Angolan rebel groups came into effect, while the FLEC continued to fight. Angolan forces destroyed the main base of FLEC-FAC in 2002 when it was widely believed that this group posed the most serious military threat to the new government. They also captured the main base of another FLEC faction, forced many independence fighters to abandon the guerrilla struggle and military defeated the FLEC. With resources from the end of the fight with Angolan rebel groups, the government dealt FLEC a significant blow in 2003. This operation of Angolan troops has been accompanied by human rights violations by the Angolan army, which carried out atrocities against civilians of Cabinda. Antonio Bento Bembe, representative of the FLEC, was forced to sign a peace accord in 2006 and the Angolan government claimed that war was over.

Current situation
Various FLEC splinter groups opposed this bargain however, stating that the resistance will continue. The ceasefire has been broken down by both sides, and the FLEC still controls some areas of Cabinda’s countryside. Although FLEC’s symphatizers as well as its opponents acknowledge that the movement has been reduced to small roving bands of guerillas with light arms and no permanent logistical base[4], the struggle for an independent Cabinda will go on. Until recently on a very low level, as the attack on the Togo bus convoy is FLEC's most prominent act for many years. It is however likely that this conflict will continue.

Actors involved

  • Front for the Liberation of the State of Cabinda (FLEC), guerrilla and political movement fighting for the independence of the Angolan province of Cabinda.
  • Splinter groups emerging from the FLEC, like FLEC-FAC and FLEC-Renovada
  • Government of Angola
  • Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), which was one of the dominant independence movements in Angola, and is nowadays the leading party in the government.
  • National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), one of Angola’s main rebel groups since independence.
  • National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA), one of Angola’s main rebel groups.
  • Chevron. American Oil Company who financially supported Angolan troops to enter Cabinda in 2002.
  • Portuguese government, the colonial ruler of Angola and Cabinda.

International response
The conflict in Cabinda is often referred to as ‘Africa’s forgotten war’, which reflects the attention that the international community has paid to this conflict. The involvement of the international interlocutors such as the United Nations or regional bodies has been notably absent. The former colonial power, Portugal, did not answer calls for intervention in the conflict as they have historically seen it is an internal problem of Angola.


[1] Shanz, J. (2006), Cabinda: Africa’s Forgotten War. In: Undercurrents, Journal of Critical Environmental Studies. Vol. 15, pp. 23-24

[2] Denhez, C.I. (2009), Independence or Autonomy: The Right to Self-Determination in the Enclave of Cabinda. In: Carleton Review of International Affairs. Vol. 1, pp. 35-51

[3] Porto, J.G. (2003), Cabinda: Notes on a soon to be forgotten war. African Security Analysis Programme, Occasional Paper, 4 August 2003. Institute for Security Studies.

[4] Human Rights Watch (2004), Angola: Between War and Peace in Cabinda, briefing paper, December 2004