The 27-Year War That Killed Half a Million On November 11, 1975, Angola achieved independence from Portugal after decades of colonial oppression. Within months, the country descended into one of Africa's longest and bloodiest civil wars—a 27-year conflict that killed over 500,000 people and became a major Cold War battleground. The Soviet Union and Cuba backed the Marxist MPLA government with troops and weapons, while the United States, South Africa, and China supported Jonas Savimbi's UNITA reb