55 Day War

55 Day War
Part of the Angolan Civil War
Date 9 January 1993– 6 March 1993 Location Angola Result UNITA victory
Belligerents
MPLA	UNITA

The 55 Day War (Portuguese: Guerra dos 55 Dias) occurred in Angola, following the elections of 1992, when the city of Huambo was disrupted by a confrontation between the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). The war lasted 55 days, beginning on 9 January 1993.^[1]

Over those days, the city was destroyed and lay in ruins. Few prisoners were taken. Wounded civilians and soldiers were left in the streets to die.^[2]

After 55 days of urban warfare, UNITA held the city.^[3] The MPLA retired to Benguela.

During the conflict, the MPLA lost 40 tanks and most of their artillery and small arms were captured.^[2] UNITA claims that MPLA's casualties were 12,000. Other estimates of casualties totaled 12,000 to 15,000 with 5,000 being civilians.^[2]

As a consequence of this conflict, Huambo lost its hegemony over other Angolan cities, having lost its industrial base, schools, universities, and homes.

See also

• Angolan Civil War
• Angolan legislative election, 1992
• Angolan presidential election, 1992

References

Bibliography

• Porto, João Gomes; Alden, Chris; Parsons, Imogen (2007). From Soldiers to Citizens: Demilitarization of Conflict and Society. Ashgate. ISBN 9780754692287. OCLC 318536876. 
• Malley-Morrison, Kathleen (2009). State Violence and the Right to Peace: Western Europe and North America. Praeger Security International/ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9780275996475. OCLC 319868186. 

Further reading

• "The battle for Huambo" 1993, Economist, 326, 7801, pp. 43-45.
• "Fingers crossed" 1994, Economist, 333, 7893, p. 44.
• "The ruins of rebellion" 1994, Economist, 330, 7852, pp. 44-45.