Operation Savannah (Angola) Operation Savannah (Angola) Operation Savannah was the South African Defence Force's 1975–1976 covert intervention in the Angolan War of Independence, and the subsequent Angolan Civil War. The so-called "Carnation Revolution" of the 25th April 1974 ended Portugal's colonial government, but Angola's three main independence forces, National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA), National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) and the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) began competing for dominance in the country. Fighting began in November 1974, starting in the capital city, Luanda, and spreading quickly across all of Angola, which was soon divided among
1950s in Angola 1950s in Angola Angola in the 1950s transitioned from colonial to provincial status. Angola had the status of a Portuguese colony from 1655 until the Assembly of the Republic passed a law on June 11, 1951, giving all Portuguese colonies provincial status, effective on October 20, 1951. Separatist political organizations advocating Angolan independence formed in the 1950s despite strong resistance from the Portuguese government, leading to the Angolan War of Independence (1961–1975). Viriato da Cruz and others formed the Movement of Young Intellectuals, an organization that promoted Angolan culture, in 1948. Nationalists sent a letter to the United Nations calling