Timeline Angola
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USLC: http://www.loc.gov/collections/country-studies/?q=angola
90Mil BCÂ Â Â Scientists in 2011
reported the discovery a previously unknown, plant-eating dinosaur
in Angola that dated to about this time. It was named Angolatitan
adamastor. The fossil was found along with fish and shark teeth in
what would have been a sea bed 90 million years ago.
   (SFC, 3/17/11, p.A2)(http://tinyurl.com/4k4vtum)
1590Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 6, English admiral
Francis Drake took the Portuguese Forts at Taag, Angola.
   (MC, 7/6/02)
1841Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 17, The island of St.
Helena recorded that a ship seized on this day was from Angola
heading to Brazil with 308 slaves "in good health" and 108 "sick"
slaves.
   (AP, 11/23/17)
1959Â Â Â Â Â Â May 25, Khrushchev visited
Angola.
   (SC, 5/25/02)
1961Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In the Portuguese
colony of Angola fighting erupted as 3 anti-colonial guerrilla
movements battled for independence. Rebels butchered Portuguese
settlers, including women and children, on remote Angolan
plantations. In revenge, Portuguese militias and troops carried out
a vicious campaign of repression, despite pressure from the US and
UN to pull out of Africa.
   (SFC, 4/5/02, p.A11)(AP, 12/9/07)(Econ, 9/3/11,
p.46)
1970Â Â Â Â Â Â In Portuguese Angola the
father of Michael Durney bought the Mampeza Industrial SARL, a
cannery in Benguela. By 1997 under Michael it was processing 5 tons
of tuna a day and one tone of sardines and mackerel.
   (WSJ, 11/10/97, p.A17)
1972Â Â Â Â Â Â Barcelo de Carvalho, aka
"Bongo," recorded the album "Angola 72" in the Netherlands. The
music’s predominant rhythm is semba, described as the origin of
Brazil’s Samba. The album was smuggled into Angola and became very
popular but was banned by the government. It was re-released in the
US in 1997. One of its songs was featured in the 1997 French film
"When the Cat’s Away."
   (SFC,10/24/97, p.E1)
1975Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun, From June to July the
US launched covert operations in Angola to prevent a Communist
takeover. In 2002 Dr. Piero Gleijeses authored “Conflicting
Missions, Havana, Washington and Africa: 1959-1976.”
   (SSFC, 3/29/02, p.A12)
1975Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 14, South Africans
secretly launched Operation Savannah when the first of several South
African columns (task force Zulu) crossed into Angola from Namibia.
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_intervention_in_Angola_(1975-1991))
1975Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 23, A Battle between
Cuban and South Africa troops took place in Angola.
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_intervention_in_Angola_(1975-1991))
1975Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 10, In Angola the MPLA
and Cuban troops warded off the last big attack of the FNLA.
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_intervention_in_Angola_(1975-1991))
1975Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 11, Angola proclaimed
independence from Portugal. Civil war began following the 14-year
fight for independence. The Movement for the Liberation of Angola
(MPLA) proclaimed unilateral independence. Jonas Savimbi led UNITA
and the FLNA was backed by Zaire.
   (SFC, 6/20/96, p.A10)(SFC, 12/26/98, p.A12)(SFC,
4/19/00, p.A10)
1975-1988Â Â Â Some 350,000 Angolans died in the Civil
War. Cuba sent in 50,000 soldiers to back the MPLA and the USSR
contributed billions of dollars. South African troops and US guns
and money supported UNITA.
   (SFC, 4/5/02, p.A11)
1977Â Â Â Â Â Â May 27, Angolan
authorities accused what they described as the "fractionistas" or
"splitters" of staging an attempted coup. Members of the group said
they did no such thing; rather they had organized a mass
demonstration and a takeover of the radio station to call people on
to the streets of Luanda, in order to pressurize President António
Agostinho Neto to clean up his government. Mr Neto called in loyal
sections of the army, supported by Cuban troops, and a massacre
began. Thousands, including many of the country's young
intellectuals and party activists, were imprisoned, tortured and
killed. In January 2018, 24 of the now adult children of some of the
disappeared set up an association of orphans, named M27.
   (AP, 9/6/20)
1977Â Â Â Â Â Â Rebel forces from Angola
swept into Zaire and captured much of the copper-rich Shaba
province. Zaire regained control after 3 months with American and
other foreign support.
   (SFC, 11/11/96, p.A11)(SFC, 5/17/97, p.A14)
1978Â Â Â Â Â Â May 4, The South African
Air Force (SAAF) engaged in air to ground combat at the Battle of
Cassinga in Angola.
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African_Border_War)
1979Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 10, Pres. Agostinho
Neto (b.1922), Angola’s 1st president, died and Jose Eduardo dos
Santos was elected president. Neto was originally embalmed but later
cremated.
   (SFC, 8/24/01,
p.A16)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agostinho_Neto)(SFC, 9/10/08,
p.A5)
1980Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 1, The southern
African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC) was established
by 9 countries with the Lusaka declaration (Angola, Botswana,
Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe).
The main aim was coordinating development projects in order to
lessen economic dependence on apartheid South Africa. On
August 17, 1992, it was transformed into the Southern African
Development Community (SADC). By 2008 it included 15 members.
   (www.sadc.int/index/browse/page/52)
1980Â Â Â Â Â Â The population of Angola
was about 7 million.
   (Econ, 1/30/10, p.55)
1982Â Â Â Â Â Â In Angola a 520-megawatt
hydroelectric plant was inaugurated in Capanda. It was expected to
go online in 2009.
   (Econ, 1/5/08, Angola p.4)
1984Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 28, In Angola the wife
and daughter of activist Marius Schoon were killed by a parcel bomb.
It was sent by Craig Michael Williamson (b1949), a former South
African police major, who was exposed as a spy in 1980.
   (Econ, 11/6/10, p.74)
1984Â Â Â Â Â Â South Africa’s ANC
executed 7 of its guerrillas by firing squad and sentenced another 8
to death in Angola’s Pango camp.
   (Econ, 1/12/12, p.75)
1988Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 22, In Angola the
battle of Cuito Cuanavale changed the region's political landscape,
accelerating the independence of Namibia and the fall of apartheid
in South Africa. While the Cuban and Angolan forces claimed victory,
South Africa claimed it lost only 31 soldiers against 4,785 who fell
on the other side.
   (AP, 3/22/08)
1988Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul, The apartheid regime
in South Africa, having entered into discussions with the ANC,
agreed to elections in Namibia in exchange for the withdrawal of
Cuban troops from Angola.
   (AP, 3/22/08)
1988Â Â Â Â Â Â Cuba and South Africa
negotiated a mutual withdrawal. The MPLA and UNITA continued
fighting.
   (SFC, 4/5/02, p.A11)
1989Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 10, Cuba began
withdrawing its troops from Angola, more than 13 years after its
first contingents arrived.
   (AP, Internet, 1/10/99)
1989Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 22, The government of
Angola and the anti-Communist rebels of the UNITA movement agreed to
a formal truce in their 14-year-old civil war. Some 1.5 million
people were killed during this period and over 4 million forced to
flee their homes.Â
   (AP, 6/22/99)(Econ, 1/30/10, p.55)
1991Â Â Â Â Â Â May 1, The government of
Angola and US-backed guerrillas initialed agreements ending their
civil war.
   (AP, 5/1/01)
1991Â Â Â Â Â Â May 23, Last Cubans troops
left Angola.
   (www.iie.com/research/topics/sanctions/cuba.cfm)
1991Â Â Â Â Â Â May 31, Pres. Jose Eduardo
dos Santos signed a peace treaty with Jonas Savimbi of UNITA, ending
a 16-year-old Angola civil war. It called for a unified military and
democratic elections.
   (AP, 5/31/01)(SFC, 4/5/02, p.A11)
1991Â Â Â Â Â Â In Angola the Bicesse
Accord failed to resolve squabbles and ended with a resumption of
war.
   (WSJ, 5/31/00, p.A26)
1991Â Â Â Â Â Â Fighting between US
supported UNITA (National Union for the Total Independence of
Angola), and the Marxist MPLA (Popular Movement for the Liberation
of Angola), ended.
   (SFC, 4/12/97, p.A12)
1991Â Â Â Â Â Â In Angola Elisol was
established as a refuse collection company. In the 1990s it took on
the maintenance of sanitation networks.
   (Econ, 1/5/08, Angola p.4)
1991-1999Â Â Â UNITA rebels in Angola raised an
estimated $3-4 billion through diamond sales.
   (SFC, 7/30/99, p.A13)
1992Â Â Â Â Â Â Angola’s Pres. Jose
Eduardo dos Santos and the MPLA beat Jonas Savimbi and UNITA in
elections.
   (Econ, 9/4/04, p.48)
1992Â Â Â Â Â Â In Angola fighting between
UNITA and the MPLA resumed when UNITA rejected its political defeat
in the country’s first democratic elections. Jonas Savimbi of the
Ovimbundu tribe, leader of UNITA, refused to accept defeat.
   (SFC, 4/12/97, p.A12)(SFC, 12/26/98, p.A12)(SFC,
7/14/99, p.A6)
1992Â Â Â Â Â Â The Angola food company,
Angoalissar, was founded by local and int’l. investors.
   (Econ, 1/5/08, Angola p.5)
1993Â Â Â Â Â Â UN peace talks began in
Zambia as fighting continued.
   (SFC, 4/5/02, p.A11)
1993Â Â Â Â Â Â Arms and an oil embargo
was imposed on the UNITA rebels by the UN but it had little effect.
   (SFC,10/30/97, p.A13)
1994Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 22, In Tolunda,
Angola, faulty brakes caused a train to plunge into a ravine and
some 300 people were killed.
   (SFC, 6/4/98, p.A15)(AP, 2/18/04)
1994Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 17, Negotiators for
the Angolan government and rebels agreed to a peace treaty to end
their 19-year civil war.
   (AP, 10/17/99)
1994Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 20, The Angolan
government under dos Santos and rebels under Savimbi signed a treaty
in Zambia to end 19 years of war, even as fighting continued in
their homeland.
   (AP, 11/20/99)(SFC, 4/5/02, p.A11)
1994Â Â Â Â Â Â The Lusaka Protocol called
for a halt to the civil war between Unita and the government that
had run for 2 decades. The accord called for UNITA to disband its
70,000 man army and hand control of almost half the country to the
government. Svimbi was given key posts in the military and Cabinet.
   (WSJ, 10/1/97, p.A16)(SFC, 12/26/98, p.A12)(SFC,
7/14/99, p.A6)
1995Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 8, The U.N. Security
Council approved sending 7,000 peacekeepers to Angola to cement an
accord ending 19 years of civil war.
   (AP, 2/8/00)
1995Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 2, Ferry boat sank off
Sumbe, Angola, and over 42 people were killed.
   (SC, 3/2/02)
1995Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 18, A private plane
carrying the Angolan soccer team crashed in Luanda, Angola, killing
48 people.
   (AP, 6/18/00)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb, The government under
Prime Minister Sir Julius Chan hired Sandline Int’l., a company that
provides military training and support, to help put an end to the
bloody secessionist movement on Bougainville Island. Sandline in
turn subcontracted much of the work to the South African mercenary
firm Executive Outcomes, known for its effective work in Angola and
Sierra Leone.
   (WSJ, 3/4/97, p.A15)(SFC, 3/21/97, p.A20)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 6, In Angola an armed
group killed 30 people at a Roman Catholic mission in southern
Angola and held 6 missionaries hostage.
   (SFC, 3/13/97, p.A13)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 11, In Angola a
national reconciliation governing body was formed that united the
MPLA under president Jose Eduardo dos Santos and UNITA under Jonas
Savimbi.
   (SFC, 4/12/97, p.A12)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 25, Angola was
supporting Kabila’s rebels. The government of Zaire claimed that
Angolan troops had invaded near Cabinda.
   (SFC, 4/26/97, p.A10)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â May 8, In Zaire rebels
were meeting increased resistance from French mercenaries and
Angolan UNITA forces. A shortage of cash was also hindering their
advance on Kinshasa.
   (WSJ, 5/9/97, p.A1)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â May 29, In Angola troops
overran the northern part of the country held by the former Unita
movement.
   (WSJ, 5/30/97, p.A1)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 28, The UN imposed air
and travel sanctions on the UNITA movement in Angola to deter Jonas
Savimbi reform increasing tensions.
   (SFC, 8/29/97, p.A16)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 1, It was reported
that Unita was demobilizing its soldiers and getting the UN to
return them to Unita-held territory, where they could again be
mobilized.
   (WSJ, 10/1/97, p.A16)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 12, Angolan troops
backed the rebels in an offensive around southern cities. Rebels
surrounded Brazzaville and Gen’l. Jean-Marie Tiaffou urged
government troops to surrender. There were reports that Angola’s
UNITA rebels were backing Pres. Lissouba.
   (SFC, 10/13/97, p.A12)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 29, The UN put new
sanctions on the UNITA rebels under Jonas Savimbi for not adhering
to the 1994 Lusaka Protocol.
   (SFC,10/30/97, p.A13)
1997-2002Â Â Â In 2004 a Human Rights Watch report said
more than $4 billion in oil revenue disappeared from Angolan state
coffers over this period, even as the country was struggling to
recover from 27 years of civil war.
   (AP, 1/13/04)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 27, The UN Security
Council approved a 3-month extension for peacekeeping operations.
   (WSJ, 1/28/98, p.A1)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 1, The UN imposed
sanctions on Unita-held areas due to the former rebels refusal to
abide by a 1994 peace accord.
   (WSJ, 7/2/98, p.A1)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 7, In Angola 16
policemen were killed in an ambush by Unita.
   (WSJ, 7/7/98, p.A1)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 10, In Angola fighting
broke out between government troops and UNITA.
   (WSJ, 8/11/98, p.A1)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 24, In Congo some
2,000 Angolan troops captured a coastal naval base and oil port and
moved up the Congo River to battle the rebels.
   (SFC, 8/25/98, p.A7)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 27, In Congo Unita
forces from Angola joined the rebels, while forces from Namibia
fought for Kabila’s regime.
   (WSJ, 8/28/98, p.A1)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 31, The ruling party
expelled Unita deputies from parliament.
   (WSJ, 9/2/98, p.A1)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 19, Angolan
rebel commander Arlindo Chenda Pena (b.1955) died of an illness in
South Africa. In 2018 his remains were repatriated to Angola. Pena,
known as "Ben Ben," was a rebel commander in UNITA, whose Portuguese
acronym means the National Union for the Total Independence of
Angola.
   (http://tinyurl.com/ycs8z4hk)(AP, 9/13/18)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 8, In Angola some 50
gunmen dressed in uniforms of the police, government and rebels,
attacked the Diamond Works mine at Yetwene. At least 6 workers were
killed and dozens were injured.
   (WSJ, 11/11/98, p.A16)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 17, Renewed fighting
created some 331,000 refugees since April.
   (WSJ, 11/18/98, p.A1)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 9, In Angola Unita
rebels advanced on Cuito after saying they had routed an attack by
government forces on their southern stronghold.
   (WSJ, 12/10/98, p.A1)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 14, The British human
rights group, Global Witness, reported that in Angola UNITA was
selling diamonds to finance its battles against government forces.
   (SFC, 12/15/98, p.C7)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 14, In Angola UNITA
rebels launched an offensive at Cuito and Huambo and claimed to have
shot down a government jet.
   (WSJ, 12/15/98, p.A1)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 16, UNITA rebels
advanced on Cuinji and dozens of civilians were killed at the train
station when rebels attacked with automatic weapons and grenades.
   (SFC, 12/17/98, p.C10)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 22, In Angola rebels
shelled Kuito. Some 60,000 refugees had fled there to escape
fighting elsewhere.
   (WSJ, 12/23/98, p.A1)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 23, In Angola
government forces retook the towns of Vila Nova and Caala.
   (SFC, 12/24/98, p.A12)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 24, In Angola a rebel
attack on Kuito killed 30 people and wounded 37. 9 of the dead,
killed by mortar fire, had sought refuge in a Catholic church.
   (SFC, 12/26/98, p.A12)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 26, In Angola a
transport plane with 14 people aboard crashed near Vila Nova, an
area of continued fighting. 8 of the passengers were members of a UN
Observer Mission. UNITA rebels reportedly held some of the
survivors. A rescue team reached the site Jan 8 and there were no
survivors.
   (SFEC, 12/27/98, p.A22)(SFC, 12/29/98, p.A8)(SFC,
1/2/99, p.A9)(SFC, 1/9/99, p.A10)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 30, In Angola rebels
bombarded Huambo and killed 5 people.
   (SFC, 12/31/98, p.D2)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe,
chairman of the African body “Organ on Politics, Defense and
Security,” joined with Namibia and Angola in a war of plunder in
Congo.
   (Econ, 3/13/04, p.48)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 2, In Angola rebel
forces shot down a UN plane with 9 people shortly after takeoff from
Huambo; there were no survivors. The plane was later found with
bullets in the tail section and the flight recorders removed.
   (SFEC, 1/3/99, p.A23)(SFC, 1/27/99, p.C10)(AP,
1/2/00)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 4, UNITA rebels denied
shooting down 2 UN planes and claimed that there were no survivors.
   (WSJ, 1/5/99, p.A1)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 5, Unita rebels
shelled Malanje for a 2nd day. 25 people were killed and 100
wounded.
   (WSJ, 1/6/99, p.A1)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 18, UN leader Kofi
Annan recommended that UN military observers leave Angola due to
their targeting by the warring sides.
   (SFC, 1/19/99, p.A6)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 21, The UN voted to
maintain at least a token presence in Angola.
   (SFC, 1/22/99, p.A12)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 27, Angola admitted
that UNITA rebels had taken the northern city of Mbanza Congo.
   (WSJ, 1/28/99, p.A1)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Angola a
chartered Antonov crashed in a Luanda residential area and 28 people
were killed.
   (WSJ, 2/3/99, p.A1)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 26, The UN Security
Council voted to close its peacekeeping mission in Angola due to the
renewed civil war.
   (SFC, 2/27/99, p.A16)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 25, UNITA rebels
claimed to control 70% of the country.
   (SFC, 4/29/99, p.D8)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 26, Angola blamed
Unita for an attack on a truck convoy that killed at least 25
people. Aid workers questioned whether the rebels were responsible.
   (WSJ, 4/27/99, p.A1)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â May 5, The WHO planned a
mass vaccination program in Angola following a polio outbreak that
killed nearly 50 children and left 700 paralyzed.
   (WSJ, 5/5/99, p.A1)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â May 31, It was reported
that an estimated 5,000 children lived homeless in the streets of
Luanda.
   (SFC, 5/31/99, p.A8)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 1, In Angola UNITA
rebels claimed that they killed 49 government soldiers in 4 clashes
over the past week.
   (SFC, 6/2/99, p.A13)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 9, Police shut down
Radio Ecclesia, a Roman Catholic radio station that was one of the
few independent sources of information in the country.
   (SFC, 8/10/99, p.A10)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 15, In Angola the
armed forces reported that Jonas Savimbi and his UNITA forces were
dislodged from their highland strongholds.
   (SFC, 11/17/99, p.A18)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 26, Government forces
with help from Namibian troops captured Jamba and took control of
the southern border with Namibia.
   (SFC, 12/27/99, p.A13)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â About 40% of Angola’s
budget was devoted to military expenditures. Less than 5% went
towards education.
   (SFC, 11/22/01, p.E6)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 5, In Angola a
military helicopter crashed and 30 people were killed at Lubango. 12
people survived and 3 Catholic nuns were among the dead.
   (SFC, 2/8/00, p.A14)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 5, In Angola about
this time some 500 armed men killed 30 diamond prospectors in
Chivungo. UNITA rebels were blamed.
   (SFC, 3/8/00, p.C4)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 15, A UN Security
Council panel accused governments of Africa and Europe of violating
sanctions against the UNITA rebels.
   (SFC, 3/16/00, p.A14)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar, Pres. Blaise Compaore
of Burkina Faso and Gnassingbe Eyadema of Togo were reported to have
helped Jonas Savimbi of UNITA obtain arms and fuel in exchange for
diamonds.
   (SFC, 4/19/00, p.A12)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 18, Rebels abducted 14
church workers and as many as 20 civilians from the Swiss mission of
Our Lady of La Salette in Dunde.
   (SFC, 7/20/00, p.C3)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 18, Gunmen attacked 2
buses at Andurie, Angola, and killed dozens of people.
   (SFC, 10/21/00, p.A14)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 31, In Saurimo,
Angola, a Russian Antonov 26 charter plane burst into flames after
takeoff and all 48 people aboard were killed.
   (SFC, 11/2/00, p.A13)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 15, In Angola an
Antonov 24 airplane crashed near Luanda Int’l. Airport and 39-40
people were killed. All Antonovs were ordered grounded in Sept.
   (SFC, 11/16/00, p.A17)(WSJ, 11/16/00, p.A1)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 21, A UN report
accused Jonas Savimbi and UNITA rebels of trading diamonds for arms.
   (SFC, 12/22/00, p.A20)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â The Angola government
agreed to open its oil accounts to the IMF and to redirect revenues
from defense to rebuilding. The population was about 13 million.
   (SSFC, 12/24/00, p.B4)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 17, In Angola a small
plane crashed into a mountain near Lubango and all but one of 17
people on board were killed.
   (SSFC, 3/18/01, p.S2)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â May 5, In Angola Unita
rebels attacked Caxito, a town near Luanda, and 79 people were
killed. Some 30,000 people fled the area following the attack.
   (WSJ, 5/8/01, p.A1)(SFC, 5/8/01, p.C3)(SFC,
5/11/01, p.D8)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â May 24, De Beers suspended
investment and prospecting for diamonds in Angola due to lack of
clarity over its legal rights. Rebel groups controlled many of the
diamond mines.
   (SFC, 5/25/01, p.D6)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, In northwestern
Angola a train carrying hundreds of refugees and some soldiers hit a
mine and derailed. Refugees were machine-gunned and over 252 were
killed. Unita forces claimed responsibility.
   (SSFC, 8/12/01, p.A18)(WSJ, 8/13/01, p.A1)(SFC,
8/14/01, p.A6)(SFC, 8/16/01, p.A9)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 18, Some 10,000 people
marched in Luanda in a government-organized protest against the Aug
11 train ambush.
   (SSFC, 8/19/01, p.A16)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 23, Angola’s Pres.
Jose Eduardo dos Santos (58) announced that he would not run in
presidential elections next year.
   (SFC, 8/24/01, p.A16)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 24, Gunmen fired a
missile at a passenger bus near Malanje, Angola, and sprayed it with
gunfire. At least 50 people, including women and children were
killed.
   (SFC, 8/28/01, p.A7)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 1, Gunmen ambushed 2
passenger buses 185 miles south of Luanda, sprayed them with gunfire
and ransacked them. 38 people were killed.
   (SFC, 9/4/01, p.B1)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, UNITA rebels
attacked an electricity substation and plunged Luanda into darkness.
The rebels with an estimated 10,000 members under Jonas Savimbi
continued operations from the bush with no sign of surrender.
   (SFC, 11/22/01, p.E6)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 22, In Angola
government troops reportedly killed UNITA rebel leader Jonas Savimbi
(67) in Moxico province.
   (SFC, 2/23/02, p.A1)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 24, Angola’s Pres.
Jose Eduardo dos Santos arrived in Portugal to present plans for
ending the civil war. Santos was scheduled to meet with Pres. Bush
in Washington Feb 26.
   (SFC, 2/25/02, p.A7)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 18, Angola’s army and
Unita rebels began cease-fire talks.
   (WSJ, 3/18/02, p.A1)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 30, The Angola
government and Unita signed a preliminary cease-fire agreement. The
deal carved up the nation’s diamond mines among officials in Luanda
and the rebels.
   (SSFC, 3/31/02, p.A12)(WSJ, 4/1/02, p.A1)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 2, The Angola
parliament passed an amnesty bill that called for demobilizing
rebels and integrating them into the army.
   (WSJ, 4/3/02, p.A1)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 4, The Angola
government and Unita signed a cease-fire agreement.
   (SFC, 4/5/02, p.A11)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 26, It was reported
that the cease-fire in Angola had opened inaccessible areas and
revealed thousands of starving people leaving the war zones.
   (SFC, 4/27/02, p.A11)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 2, The Angolan
government and UNITA rebels declared the official end to their
nearly three-decade old civil war.
   (AP, 8/2/02)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, Angola reported
the capture of Augustin Bizimungu, a key figure in the 1994
Rwandan genocide.
   (SFC, 8/14/02, p.A13)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 15, The U.N. Security
Council voted unanimously to strengthen the U.N. presence in Angola
to help consolidate peace in the southwest African nation after 27
years of civil war.
   (AP, 8/15/02)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 12, The World Bank
pledged $120 million to help Angola rebuild after more than two
decades of civil war, but told its leaders they must take measures
to dispel suspicion of high-level corruption.
   (AP, 9/12/02)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 9, The UN Security
Council lifted 9-year-old sanctions against Angola's UNITA movement,
welcoming efforts by the government and the former rebel group to
end the country's civil war.
   (AP, 12/9/02)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Angola’s TAAG Airlines
lost its monopoly of air transportation and was forced to adopt to
new market conditions.
   (Econ, 1/5/08, Angola p.6)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â May 6, President Bush
lifted Clinton-era sanctions (1993-1998) against Angola's UNITA
rebels, citing the end of a quarter-century of civil war.
   (AP, 5/7/03)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â May 25, A Boeing 727
chartered by an Angolan company vanished on a flight to either
Burkina Faso, South Africa, Libya or Nigeria.
   (AP, 6/11/03)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun, In Angola Isaias
Samakuva was elected head of UNITA.
   (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3031752.stm)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec, Angola's ruling party
chose Pres. Jose Eduardo dos Santos as its candidate for the next
general election.
   (Econ, 12/13/03, p.8)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 13, A Human Rights
Watch report said more than $4 billion in oil revenue disappeared
from Angolan state coffers between 1997 and 2002, even as the
country was struggling to recover from 27 years of civil war.
   (AP, 1/13/04)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 28-2004 Jan 29, It was
reported that Angolan troops and police had driven at least 10,000
Congolese from northern Angola's diamond zones in a bloody month-old
campaign.
   (AP, 1/30/04)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 22, In Angola a tanker
truck carrying gasoline exploded near the capital of Luanda, killing
18 people and injuring 87.
   (AP, 2/23/04)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 17, Angola decided to
reject genetically modified food aid. The decision threatened to
disrupt distributions to hundreds of thousands of people.
   (AP, 3/29/04)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Inflation in Angola
dropped from 106% in 2002 to 31%.
   (Econ, 9/17/05, p.45)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 22, Officials from the
ministry of health and the World Health Organization (WHO) said a
deadly hemorrhagic fever that has claimed the lives of 96 people,
mainly children, in Angola's northern Uige province has been
identified as the rare Marburg virus.
  Â
(www.meritcare.com/news/world/viewarticle.asp?id=18843)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 8, Angola’s death toll
from the Marburg virus, which has no effective treatment, rose to
181 with no signs of abating. Doctors without Borders urged the
government to close the regional hospital at Uige to help contain
the spread. Suspected cases have been identified in 7 provinces.
   (SFC, 4/9/05, p.A8)(SSFC, 4/10/05, p.A5)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â May 19, UN health
officials said death from the Angola Marburg fever outbreak had
exceeded 300.
   (WSJ, 5/20/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Angola’s economy grew this
year by an estimated 15.5%.
   (Econ, 6/24/06, p.51)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â A syndicate called China
Int’l. Fund or China Sonangol, created by a man named Sam Pa (aka Xu
Jinghua), signed contracts giving the company the right to export
Angolan oil and act as a middleman between Sonangol and Sinopec. The
company operated out of Hong Kong. By 2009 the company had bought
the JPMorgan Chase building at 23 Wall Street, NYC. Newbright
Int’l., a core company of the syndicate, was 70% controlled by
Veronica Fung.
   (Econ, 8/13/11, p.21)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 1, Cabinda, a 7,000
sq-km province of Angola located on the western coast just north of
the CongoDRC, signed the “Memorandum of Understanding for Peace in
Cabinda” with the government of Angola, granting it “a special
statute” and greater autonomy. In 2007 the province pumped over half
of Angola’s 1.7 million barrels per day oil production.
   (Econ, 1/5/08, Angola p.8)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 23, Portuguese bank
BPI said it will open 30 new branches in fast-growing Angola next
year, bringing its total number of outlets in the oil-rich
southwestern African nation to 100 by the end of 2007.
   (AP, 10/23/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 15, In Kenya 11
African heads of state attending the 2nd International Conference on
the Great Lakes Region signed a landmark $2 billion
(1.5-billion-euro) security and development pact to forestall fresh
violence in the area.
   (AFP, 12/15/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Angola’s Gen. Fernando
Miala, head of the external intelligence service, alleged that some
$2 billion in Chinese money intended for infrastructure projects had
disappeared. The general was soon sacked and imprisoned.
   (Econ, 8/13/11, p.22)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 31, Luanda, Angola,
built for half a million people was now home for at least 4 million,
many of whom fled there during the civil war.
   (Econ, 3/31/07, p.58)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 28, An Angolan
Airlines plane crashed into a house on landing, killing at least six
people in M'banza Congo, a town about 180 miles north of the
capital, Luanda.
   (AP, 6/28/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 28, The European
Commission said all Indonesian airlines and several from Russia,
Ukraine and Angola will be banned from flying to the EU due to
safety concerns.
   (AP, 6/28/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 20, Angola, Namibia
and South Africa launched a joint commission designed to lay the
groundwork for a sustainable and environmental approach of their
shared fishing grounds in the Atlantic Ocean.
   (AFP, 7/20/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 21, Sources said the
presumed head of the Nigerian armed group the Movement for the
Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), who goes under the name of
Jomo Gbomo, has been arrested in Angola.
   (AFP, 9/21/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 22, The World Health
Organization said nearly 400 people, mostly children, have fallen
ill in Angola in what medical investigators suspect is an outbreak
of bromide poisoning.
   (AP, 11/23/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 5, An international
aid organization said Angolan soldiers routinely and repeatedly rape
Congolese women who have crossed the border illegally in search of
work in the diamond fields.
   (AP, 12/5/07)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 14, Angola extradited
Henry Okah, the alleged leader of Movement for the Emancipation of
the Niger Delta (MEND), to Nigeria.
   (AP, 2/15/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 29, A police
headquarters building in Angola's capital collapsed and at least 24
people were killed.
   (AP, 3/31/08)
2008      Apr 18,  Â
 South Africa's main transport union thwarted the delivery of a
controversial shipment of Chinese arms destined for Zimbabwe, saying
its workers would not offload the cargo. The Chinese ship left the
South African harbor and headed for neighboring Mozambique. Angola
and Mozambique said the ship is not welcome. China defended the
cargo against international criticism.
   (AFP, 4/18/08)(AP, 4/19/08)(AFP, 4/22/08)(SFC,
4/23/08, p.A2)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 5, Angolans voted for
the first time in 16 years in a parliamentary election expected to
extend the ruling party's hold of more than three decades in the
oil-rich African nation. A new quota required 30% of the candidates
to be women.
   (AP, 9/5/08)(Econ, 9/20/08, p.76)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 6, Angolan election
officials extended voting by a day in the capital, but said the
logistical problems that marred the first balloting in 16 years were
confined to Luanda.
   (AP, 9/6/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, Angola's former
rebel movement and main opposition party UNITA faced up to a
crushing electoral defeat in a landmark peacetime poll in which it
won only 10.4% of the vote. The ruling left-wing MPLA (Popular
Movement for the Liberation of Angola), which has been in power for
over three decades, had nearly 82 percent of the votes.
   (AFP, 9/9/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 6, In France
Jean-Christophe Mitterrand, the son of a late French president, an
Israeli-Russian billionaire and 40 other people charged with
trafficking arms to war-riven Angola or taking kickbacks faced
judges in a long-awaited trial in Paris. Prosecutors alleged that
French businessman Pierre Falcone and Arkady Gaydamak, an Israeli
tycoon based in France at the time, organized the sale of Russian
arms to Angola from 1993-2000, for a total of US$791 million, in
breach of French government rules.
   (AP, 10/6/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 7, The UN
secretary-general joined African leaders to try to end the fighting
in eastern Congo, where a fragile cease-fire is close to collapse. A
UN official and a peacekeeping officer said Angolan troops are
fighting alongside Congolese soldiers battling rebels outside the
eastern provincial capital of Goma. The UN official said an
unspecified number of Angolans arrived four days ago.
   (AP, 11/7/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 12, Angola announced
it is mobilizing troops to send to neighboring Congo, heightening
fears that the fighting in this central African nation will engulf
other countries in the region. North of Kibati the bodies of two
dead government soldiers lay in the center of the road beside a
rebel checkpoint.
   (AP, 11/12/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 17, In Beijing the
presidents of China and Angola signed a series of agreements as the
oil rich African nation sought greater Chinese participation in its
energy and infrastructure development.
   (AP, 12/17/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Luanda, Angola, became one
of the most expensive cities in the world as office space costs
reached $8,000 a square meter and rents for a 2-room apartment
downtown reached $15,000 a month. Large oil reserves and diamond
mines sparked development in the port with limited seafront land.
   (SSFC, 9/14/08, p.A19)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 12, The UN refugee
agency said Angola is launching a fresh effort to bring back
refugees still displaced in neighboring African countries, seven
years after the end of the civil war in 2002.
   (AFP, 3/12/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 20, Tens of thousands
of Angolans welcomed Pope Benedict XVI. He urged Angolans to
continue on the path of reconciliation after nearly three decades of
civil war, saying dialogue could overcome all conflict and tension.
   (AP, 3/20/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 21, In Angola Pope
Benedict XVI appealed to the Catholics of Angola to reach out to and
convert believers in witchcraft who feel threatened by "spirits" and
"evil powers" of sorcery. Two people were killed in a deadly
stampede that broke out at Luanda stadium a few hours before Pope
Benedict XVI addressed young people.
   (AP, 3/21/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 27, Southern African
countries (Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia) have been
hit by the worst floods in years, killing more than 100 people and
displacing thousands, as a tropical storm threatened to bring more
pain.
   (AFP, 3/28/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 9, US Secretary of
State Hillary Rodham Clinton arrived in oil-rich Angola to
underscore America's presence in one of sub-Saharan Africa's largest
energy producers where America is competing with China for
resources.
   (AP, 8/9/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 20, Angola and South
Africa signed a number of trade agreements including cooperation in
the oil sector, following major bilateral talks aimed at
strengthening economic relations.
   (AFP, 8/20/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 14, The Democratic
Republic of Congo said it had agreed with Angola to halt tit-for-tat
expulsions of each other's citizens as victims told of being
subjected to brutal rapes and lootings when they were thrown out by
Luanda.
   (AFP, 10/14/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 30, An Iraqi official
said the Angolan national oil company Sonangol has signed
preliminary deals to develop two small oil fields in northern Iraq.
   (AP, 12/30/09)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 8, In Angola hooded
gunmen sprayed the Togo soccer team’s bus with gunfire as it
traveled through the restive northern Cabinda enclave. The bus
driver was killed and 7 others were injured. The attack was claimed
by the separatist Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda
(FLEC), which has been fighting for decades for the independence of
the oil-rich territory. The next day media officer Stanislas Ocloo
and assistant coach Amalete Abalo died from their wounds. Virgilio
Santos, an official with the African Nations Cup local organizing
committee COCAN, said teams had been told explicitly not to travel
to the tournament by road.
   (Reuters, 1/9/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 11, Angola said it had
arrested two people suspected of taking part in an attack on a bus
carrying the Togo national soccer team to the African Nations Cup in
which two delegation members were killed.
   (Reuters, 1/11/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 19, An Angolan human
rights lawyer said that police are rounding up peaceful activists
and accusing them of responsibility in a deadly attack on the Togo
national soccer team's bus as it headed to the African Cup of
Nations tournament.
   (AP, 1/19/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 21, Angola'sÂ
parliament approved a new constitution under which the president
would no longer be directly elected by the people, but would be
chosen by the parliament. In effect the leader of the largest party
in parliament automatically becomes president. The charter must now
be approved by the Constitutional Court, a step seen as a formality.
Critics said giving parliament the power to name the president will
only further entrench President Eduardo Dos Santos, who has been in
power since 1979.
   (AP, 1/22/10)(Economist, 9/1/12, p.52)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan, Angola at this time
produced about 1.9 million barrels of oil per day. Its reserves were
estimated at 13 billion barrels.
   (Econ, 1/30/10, p.55)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â May 13, The UN General
Assembly approved all 14 candidates for the 14 seats on the
47-member Human Rights Council. Human rights groups criticized the
poor human rights records 7 of the candidates: Angola, Libya,
Malaysia, Mauritania, Qatar, Thailand and Uganda.
   (SFC, 5/14/10, p.A2)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 26, The UN Office for
the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said at least 30
women were kept as prisoners in a dungeon-like structure and
gang-raped over multiple weeks at the Congo and Angola border before
being left in the bush without their clothes. The deportees said
they were held by Angolan authorities in a dingy building. At least
three were killed, including two men and a woman (27) who died after
being raped repeatedly.
   (AP, 10/27/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 6, United Nations
officials said they were investigating reports that some 700
Congolese women were sexually attacked along the country's border
with Angola. Many women had said Angolan soldiers were responsible
for their attacks.
   (AP, 11/6/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 19, In the Republic of
Congo 8 countries signed a convention to limit the spread of weapons
in central Africa, but three countries opted out. Angola, Cameroon,
the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of
Congo, Gabon, The Republic of Congo, Sao Tome and Principe all
signed. Burundi, Equatorial Guinea and Rwanda did not sign.
   (AFP, 11/20/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 23, In Angola activist
Antonio Paca Panzo was released from jail for lack of evidence after
seven months and 12 days. Panzo was arrested in april in the Cabinda
region for apparently having T-shirts emblazoned with the faces of
four activists who had been arrested in January and were accused of
responsibility in a deadly attack on the Togo team bus as it headed
to the African Cup of Nations. Panzo was freed because of lack of
evidence.
   (AP, 11/30/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 14, Angolan President
Jose Eduardo dos Santos started a historic first state visit to
South Africa, a trip aimed at ending decades-long enmity between two
of the region's major economies.
   (AFP, 12/14/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 29, An Angolan court
sentenced Jean Antuan Pwaty (42) a Congolese citizen, to 24 years in
prison following the Jan 8 attack on Togo's national soccer team
that killed two people and left eight others wounded including a
goalkeeper. Pwaty was convicted of murder, armed rebellion and
attempted murder.
   (AP, 12/30/10)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb, The population of
Angola was about 18 million. Half had virtually no access to health
care. 5 million people lived in the capital, Luanda.
   (Econ, 2/12/11, p.53)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, German Chancellor
Angela Merkel visited Angola and sparked controversy over an offer
to sell six to eight patrol vessels to Luanda.
   (AFP, 7/14/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, Angolan officials
said 2 children have died from a wave of mysterious poisonings over
the last two days in schools, but police have yet to identify the
toxin that has sown panic in the country. Nearly 570 cases have been
recorded across the country.
   (AFP, 7/29/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 8, Cuban state media
reported that Cuba and Angola, long-standing allies, have boosted
military cooperation during a visit to the communist-run Caribbean
island by Angolan defense officials.
   (AFP, 8/8/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, Angolan
authorities barred activists from entering the country ahead of the
annual Southern African Development Community summit that opens Aug
16.
   (AP, 8/13/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 25, Human Rights Watch
called for Angola to stop forced evictions as the southern city of
Lubango threatened to demolish 750 families' houses to make way for
a new road.
   (AP, 8/25/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, An Angolan air
force plane crashed as it took off from a central base, killing 30
people including three generals. Six people survived the fiery crash
in Huambo province.
   (AP, 9/14/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, Angolan police
broke up an anti-government demonstration 10 minutes after about 100
youngsters began a rally in the capital calling for Pres. Dos Santos
to resign.
   (AFP, 9/25/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 10, In Angola a Luanda
court gave William Tonet, editor of the newspaper Folha 8, five days
to pay 10 million kwanzas ($106,000, 77,000 euro) in damages or
spend a year in jail for a 2008 article in which he had accused
three generals of the Angolan Armed Forces of self-enrichment and
power abuse. Over the next week supporters raised $50,000 to pay the
fine.
   (AFP, 10/11/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 16, Angolan police
arrested at least five people during a protest in support of a
rapper critical of the government. Some 100 young people protested
the disappearance of 5,000 out of the 20,000 copies of Brigadeiro 10
Pacote's new album which were to be sold at a launch. The album
calls on President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos, who has been in power
since 1979, to step down.
   (AFP, 10/17/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 18, Angola’s Pres.
Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who has been in power for 32 years, denied
his country was a dictatorship, but admitted there was a need for
more social dialogue after a series of unprecedented anti-government
protests.
   (AFP, 10/18/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec, The IMF said that an
unexplained gap of $32 billion had emerged in the Angola
government's accounts from 2007 to 2010, equivalent to 25% of its
gross domestic product.
   (AFP, 1/18/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 18, Angola's
government denied that $32 billion had gone missing from public
funds, after the IMF last month raised a flag over a discrepancy in
the national books. The government said the discrepancy resulted
from "oil revenue being inadequately recorded.
   (AFP, 1/18/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 9, The IMF said it has
extended its $1.34-billion (one-billion-euro) loan program in Angola
to March 30 to allow time for a final review before the last payout.
   (AFP, 2/9/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 17, In Angola the Epal
water utility in Luanda vowed to repair a burst water main within
days, to end severe shortages that have lasted a week across much of
the city. Most people in this city of seven million live without
running water or electricity.
   (AFP, 2/17/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 24, Angola's state oil
company Sonangol announced it is withdrawing from a natural-gas
project in Iran due to international sanctions over Tehran's nuclear
program.
   (AFP, 2/24/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 13, In Guinea-Bissau a
communique from an unidentified military commander was released
claiming soldiers do not want to seize power, but instead were
trying to halt an invasion from Angolan troops. The unidentified
military commander claimed that Gomes was going to allow troops from
Angola, another former Portuguese colony in Africa, to attack
military forces in Guinea-Bissau.
   (AP, 4/13/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â May 17, Angola’s Supreme
Court ordered Suzana Ingles to vacate her post leading the National
Electoral Commission. the ruling MPLA, in power since independence
from Portugal in 1975, has seen few challenges to its power.
   (AFP, 5/19/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â May 17, Argentina’s
President Cristina Kirchner arrived in Angola for a short state
visit to push for a deal to exchange her country's food for Angolan
oil.
   (AFP, 5/17/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 6, Angolan troops,
whose presence angered local soldiers and prompted a coup in April,
began leaving Guinea-Bissau. The pullout was completed on June 9.
   (AFP, 6/6/12)(AFP, 6/9/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 20, Angola police in
Luanda dispersed more than 100 protesting war veterans, who claimed
they have not received promised payments. State news agency Angop
quoted an army statement saying payments were resumed June 15.
   (AP, 6/21/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 5, Human Rights Watch
criticized Angola for its "alarming" crackdown on anti-government
protestors amid a growing public show of dissent in the run-up to
next month's elections.
   (AFP, 7/5/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, Chinese police
brought back 37 suspected Chinese gangsters from Angola. They had
been arrested for alleged crimes against other Chinese.
   (SSFC, 8/26/12, p.A5)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 31, Angola held its
2nd general election in 20 years. The ruling party was expected to
easily hang onto power despite accusations it is corrupt and has
mismanaged the country’s oil and diamond riches. President Jose
Eduardo dos Santos' ruling party won 72 percent of the national vote
assuring his government, in power for 32 years, another five years
in power. The electoral commission later said 40 percent of voters
abstained.
   (AP, 8/31/12)(AP, 9/3/12)(AP, 9/4/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, In England a man
fell to the ground in the Mortlake neighborhood of West London when
a jet passing overhead lowered its landing gear as it neared the
runway at Heathrow Airport. The apparent stowaway had no
identification papers, just some currency from Angola.
   (AP, 12/10/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Angola’s population was
about 20 million.
   (Econ, 6/30/12, p.54)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 31, In Angola 10
people, including four children, died in a stampede during a New
Year’s Eve religious gathering at a sports stadium in Luanda.
   (AP, 1/2/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 11, Angola received a
boost to its free speech from the Portuguese courts, which refused
to allow Angolan generals to stop the publication of the book
“"Blood Diamonds: Corruption and Torture in Angola” by Rafael
Marques. It exposed corruption and human rights abuses in the
country's lucrative diamond mines.
   (AP, 2/13/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â May 7, Scientists said
Cassava Brown Streak Disease (CBSD) is destroying entire crops of
cassava and has spread out of East Africa into the heart of the
continent. It is attacking plants as far south as Angola and now
threatens to move west into Nigeria, the world's biggest producer of
the potato-like root that helps feed 500 million Africans.
   (AP, 5/7/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 4, A report by a
corruption watchdog group said some $750 million is missing from
Angola's treasury from a deal with Russia facilitated by a Swiss
bank and a shell company registered in Britain's Isle of Man.
Russian and French arms dealers got away with $263 million, Angola's
president reportedly stashed away more than $36 million, and three
Angolan officials and a former Russian legislator got away with
smaller amount. Another $400 million was unaccounted for.
   (AP, 6/4/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, Angolan
authorities suspended a prison director and 15 officials after a
video, posted in August, of wardens beating up inmates circulated on
social networks.
   (AFP, 9/30/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 13, A detachment of
Angolan troops crossed into neighboring Congo Republic and detained
a group of Congolese soldiers. The incident highlights tensions
around Angola's oil-rich Cabinda enclave, which is separated from
the rest of Angola and surrounded by Congo Republic and Democratic
Republic of Congo. 55 soldiers of the Republic of Congo were
released on Oct 18.
   (Reuters, 10/17/13)(AFP, 10/18/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 23, Angolan security
forces shot and killed Manuel Ganga, one of eight members of
Angola's second-biggest opposition party CASA-CE, as he tried to
flee detention hours ahead of protests across the country where
police detained 292 people. Police fired tear gas and warning shots
to disperse hundreds of opposition supporters demonstrating in the
capital against the disappearance and possible murder of two
anti-government activists. Prosecutors said last week that Isaias
Cassule and Antonio Alves Camulingui, who were involved in
organizing protests by former presidential guards to demand payment
of wage arrears, had been kidnapped and possibly murdered in May
2012.
   (Reuters, 11/23/13)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 18, The 75,000
deadweight ton Liberian-flagged fuel tanker MT Kerala lost contact
with its Greece-based owner Dynacom off the coast of Angola. A
pirate attack was suspected making it the most southerly attack to
date by pirates off West Africa. On Jan 26 Angola's navy said the
crew of the oil tanker had turned off communications to fake an
attack.
   (Reuters, 1/22/14)(Reuters, 1/26/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 17, Cambodian police
arrested two Vietnamese men who were trying to smuggle almost 80 kg
(176 pounds) of illegal ivory from Angola.
   (AP, 2/17/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 16, The ultra-deep
Angolan offshore oil project called Kaombo generated the third huge
contract in three days when French group Total picked two firms to
carry out underwater engineering worth $3.5 billion.
   (AFP, 4/16/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr, Angola ranked 179th
out of 189 in the World Bank’s latest “ease of doing business”
survey. Isabel dos Santos, the daughter of the president and
Africa’s first female billionaire, was seen by human rights groups
as an indictment of the government system.
   (Econ, 4/12/14, p.42)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â May 27, Angolan police
beat and detained 20 people protesting at Luanda’s Independence
Square against the killing of three activists over the last two
years by security forces.
   (Reuters, 5/28/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, African nations
agreed to suspend military operations for six months against
Congo-based Rwandan rebels in order to give them more time to lay
down their arms. The suspension was announced after a meeting in
Angola of foreign ministers from a regional bloc including Angola,
Burundi, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, DRC, Kenya,
Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia.
   (Reuters, 7/3/14)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 11, In Angola heavy
storms hit Lobito late today, sending torrents of water rushing from
surrounding hillsides into the town that sits on the coast of the
south Atlantic ocean. The death toll in Lobito soon rose to 69,
including 36 children.
   (AFP, 3/14/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 16, Angola police
raided the Seventh Day Light of the World Church in central Huambo
province. Police said 13 civilians and 9 policemen were killed
during the raid that led to the arrest of sect leader Jose Julino
Kalupeteka. The opposition party, UNITA later accused the police of
killing 1,080.  Â
   (AP, 5/3/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 30, It was reported
that Angola's government has banned nine church groups operating in
central Huambo province, where the main opposition party said
hundreds were killed this month in a police crackdown on a rebel
Christian sect.
   (Reuters, 4/30/15)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 3, Angola state media
reported that at least 24 people, many of them children, died and
dozens were missing after a flash-flood swept through a market in
the southern city of Lubango.
   (Reuters, 3/3/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 24, Angola's
population has risen to nearly 26 million from earlier estimates of
around 21 million, according to the results of a 2014 census
released today.
   (Reuters, 3/24/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 28, An Angola a court
sentenced 17 youth activists, including a well-known rapper, to
between two and eight years in jail for rebellion against Pres. Jose
Eduardo dos Santos. They were arrested last June and have denied the
charges against them.
   (AFP, 3/28/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â May 19, World Health
Organization held an emergency meeting on the outbreak of yellow
fever in Angola. Yellow fever has been raging since last December,
and especially in the capital Luanda, killing 293 people in the
country to date and infecting another 2,267.
   (AP, 5/19/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 7, The Front for the
Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC), a rebel movement
seeking independence for Angola's main oil region, said its leader
Nzita Henriques Tiago (88) has died in France.
   (Reuters, 6/7/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 23, The World Health
Organization (WHO) said if will carry out emergency yellow fever
vaccination campaigns along the border between Angola and Congo.
Since last December there were 347 suspected deaths from yellow
fever in Angola and 75 deaths in Congo.
   (SFC, 6/23/16, p.A2)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, In Angola the
separatist Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC)
said that 9 Angolan soldiers had been killed in the region.
   (Reuters, 8/1/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 30, In Angola clashes
with the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC)
broke out near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Over the next two days 2 rebels and 17 Angolan soldiers were killed
in two incidents in the oil-producing province of Cabinda.
   (Reuters, 8/1/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 13, The World Health
Organization said yellow fever outbreaks in Angola and the
Democratic Republic of Congo are "under control" after a massive
vaccination campaign involving millions.
   (AFP, 9/13/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 2, Angola’s state
radio announced that President Jose Eduardo dos Santos (74) will
stand down next year.
   (AFP, 12/3/16)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 9, Angolan health
officials said they had recorded the country's first two cases of
the Zika virus, a French tourist (two months ago) and a resident in
the capital Luanda (last week).
   (AFP, 1/9/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 3, Veteran Angolan
President Jose Eduardo dos Santos announced he will not run in
August elections, signaling the end to 37 years in power and naming
his defense minister as the candidate to succeed him.
   (AFP, 2/3/17)  Â
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 10, In Angola a
stadium stampede killed at least 17 and injured scores during a
domestic soccer league match between host side Santa Rita de Cassia
and Recreativo de Libolo in the northern town of Uige. The host team
blamed the stampeded on police error. The death toll soon climbed to
22.
   (AFP, 2/11/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Portugal's
attorney general's office said prosecutors are bringing charges of
corruption, money-laundering and forgery against Angolan Vice
President Manuel Vicente as part of an investigation in Lisbon.
Vicente is suspected of bribing a Portuguese magistrate to favor him
in two investigations.
   (AP, 2/16/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 20, Angola's likely
next president Joao Lourenco declared war on graft in the
notoriously corrupt country, as he starts to shape his public image
ahead of elections due in August.
   (AFP, 2/20/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 18, In Angola about
200 demonstrators protested under heavy police surveillance in
Luanda against a draft law criminalizing all abortions.
   (AFP, 3/18/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 22, The France-based
World Water Council said nearly a third of people from sub-Saharan
Africa do not have access to safe drinking water. It said clean
drinking water is available to less than 50% of the people in
Angola, Equatorial Guinea and Papua New Guinea.
   (SFC, 3/23/17, p.A2)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â May 13, It was reported
that hundreds of people from Democratic Republic of Congo's central
Kasai region have been pouring into neighboring Angola every day for
more than a month to escape violence plaguing their homes.
   (AFP, 5/13/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 24, A new UN report
said Angola has expelled more than 8,000 Congolese who entered the
southern African country while fleeing deadly violence at home.
   (AP, 6/24/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, UNESCO added Mbanza
Kongo in northwest Angola as a world heritage site. It was the
capital of the Kongo kingdom, a largely independent state between
the 14th and 19th centuries.
   (AP, 7/10/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 23, Angolans voted in
an election marking the end of Pres. Jose Eduardo dos Santos's
38-year reign, with his MPLA party set to retain power despite an
economic crisis. Joao Lourenco (63), a ruling-party loyalist and
former general who endured several years out of favor, was poised to
win.
   (AFP, 8/23/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 24, Angola’s UNITA
party said it has 40 percent of two million votes in its count,
compared to 47 percent for the ruling MPLA party. It said another
opposition group, CASA-CE, has 9 percent in the partial count from
the Aug 23 election. The MPLA claimed it won a majority with five
million votes counted in its own tally.
   (AP, 8/24/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 25, Angola’s electoral
commission said the ruling MPLA party convincingly won the Aug 23
general election citing provisional results, but the main opposition
rejected the outcome. Results showed the MPLA took 61.1 percent of
the votes counted compared with the opposition UNITA party’s 26.7
percent.
   (Reuters, 8/25/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 26, In Angola Joao
Lourenco was inaugurated as president at a ceremony in Luanda ending
the 38-year reign of Jose Eduardo dos Santos.
   (AFP, 9/26/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov, Angola’s Pres. Joao
Lourenco removed the former president's daughter, Isabel dos Santos,
as chair of the national oil company, Sonangol. She is said to be
Africa's richest woman. Two-thirds of Angolans lived in poverty on
less than $2 a day. Isabel’s husband Sindika Dokolo was a Congolese
businessman and noted collector of Congolese art.
   (AP, 11/22/17)(Econ, 9/16/17, p.44)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 22, Angola continued
to suffer a week of fuel shortages, a bitter irony for one of
Africa's leading oil producers, and a hardship that some people
blame on opponents of President Joao Lourenco.
   (AFP, 12/22/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 26, Angola’s
Russian-built AngoSat 1 satellite successfully entered orbit after
launch from the Baikonur pad in Kazakhstan, but experts couldn't
immediately establish contact. By Dec. 29 state-run Energia company
engineers established communications with the craft and received
data indicating that all its systems are operating properly.
   (AP, 12/29/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â In Angola every
professional football match is staged in one of four, Chinese built,
stadiums.
   (Econ, 3/25/17, p.38)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â The population of Angola
was about 28 million.
   (Econ, 8/19/17, p.41)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 22, Angola's former
vice president Manuel Vicente failed to appear at a Portuguese court
where he was scheduled to stand trial for corruption.
   (AP, 1/22/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 17, Angola saw its
first authorized anti-government protest in decades with about 10
people demonstrating in the capital against an amnesty those who
have stashed vast wealth abroad.
   (AFP, 3/17/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 26, In Angola the
prosecutor general's office said the son of ex-president, Jose
Filomeno dos Santos, has been charged with fraud relating to a $500
million transaction out of an account belonging to the central bank.
Prosecutors also charged the head of the Angolan armed forces,
Geraldo Sachipengo Nunda, with involvement in a scheme to negotiate
a fraudulent international credit line of $50 billion.
   (Reuters, 3/26/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 23, Angolan President
Joao Lourenco sacked the chief of staff of the armed forces and the
head of the foreign intelligence agency, his latest moves against
officials tainted by graft allegations or links to his predecessor,
Jose Eduardo dos Santos.
   (Reuters, 4/23/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â May 29, Jornal de Angola
reported that Angolan prosecutors have named Jean-Claude Bastos, the
head of an asset manager hired by Angola's sovereign wealth fund, as
a suspect in a criminal investigation and banned him from leaving
the country.
   (Reuters, 5/29/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 8, In Angola Jose
Eduardo dos Santos (76) stepped down as leader of the ruling MPLA
party. At a party congress, delegates moved to elect President Joao
Lourenco as the new chief of the MPLA, which has led oil-rich Angola
since independence from Portugal in 1975.
   (AP, 9/8/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 17, Angolan President
Joao Lourenco welcomed Portuguese PM Antonio Costa to Luanda for the
first visit by a leader of the former colonial power in seven years.
Costa arrival kicked off a two-day trip designed to improve ties
between Luanda and its former colonial master.
   (AFP, 9/17/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 14, Congolese migrants
and officials said dozens of people were killed this month in
neighboring Angola in a crackdown on artisanal diamond mining, an
accusation Angolan security forces strongly denied. Border guard
officials said the Angolan operation began on October 1.
   (Reuters, 10/14/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 16, The UN refugee
agency expressed concern over Angola's expulsion of some 200,000
Congolese in the past two weeks, saying it would create a
humanitarian crisis.
   (SFC, 10/17/18, p.A2)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 20, Angolan state
minister Pedro Sebastiao said about 380,000 illegal migrants, mostly
from the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, have left Angola
in less than a month during a massive operation targeting diamond
smuggling. He told traveling reporters that diamonds worth more than
$1 million had been seized.
   (AFP, 10/21/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 15, Human Rights Watch
called on Angola to halt mass deportations after more than 400,000
migrants, mainly from the Democratic Republic of Congo, fled or were
expelled from Angola in just weeks.
   (AFP, 11/15/18)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 6, Angola's Pres. Joao
Lourenco met with Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa in
Luanda in a top-level encounter between nations whose relations have
previously been strained by anti-corruption issues.
   (AFP, 3/6/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 30, A report compiled
by the United Nations children’s fund UNICEF said severe drought in
Angola has plunged 2.3 million people into a food security crisis
with thousands of children being treated for malnutrition.
   (Reuters, 4/30/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 11, Angolan
authorities opened a criminal case against a former fishing minister
for alleged involvement in a bribery scandal with Iceland's biggest
fishing company that has seen six arrests in neighboring Namibia.
State-owned Jornal de Angola said authorities had frozen the assets
of ex-minister of fisheries Victoria de Barros Neto and opened a
case against her, her husband and four children.
   (Reuters, 12/11/19)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 17, It was reported
that Chad is repaying Angola a debt of $100m (£82m) with cattle.
More than 1,000 cows have arrived by ship in Luanda as the first
payment.
   (BBC, 3/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 19 More African
countries closed their borders as the coronavirus’ local spread
threatened to turn the continent of 1.3 billion people into an
alarming new front for the pandemic. Senegal closed its airspace.
Angola and Cameroon shut air, land and sea borders. Rwanda blocked
all commercial flights for a month. The island nation of Mauritius
closed its border after announcing its first case.
   (AP, 3/19/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 21, Angola reported
its first two Covid-19 cases.
   (AP, 3/21/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 29, Angola's finance
minister said the country's economy will contract by 1.21% in 2020,
marking a fifth year of recession, as the coronavirus and a slump in
oil prices batter its finances.
   (Reuters, 3/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 14, In Angola José
Filomeno dos Santos (42), son of former president José Eduardo dos
Santos, was jailed for five years for fraud from when he was head of
the oil-rich country's Sovereign Wealth Fund.
   (BBC, 8/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 15, It was reported
that prosecutors in Angola have ordered the closure of places of
worship belonging to one of Brazil's biggest churches, the Universal
Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG), accusing it of corruption.
   (BBC, 8/15/20)
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