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
United Nations Angola Verification Mission II (MPLA), the "de facto" government of Angola, with control of Luanda and most of the country since independence in 1975, and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). The mission's original mandate was established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 696 (1991), passed on May 30, 1991. The stated mandate was: to verify the arrangements agreed by the Angolan parties for the monitoring of the ceasefire and for the monitoring of the Angolan police during the ceasefire period. The subsequent resolution Resolution 747 (1992), passed March 24, 1992 altered the mandate to include electoral monitoring duties. During