The Lusaka Accords of 1984 declared a

ceasefire A ceasefire (also known as a truce or armistice), also spelled cease fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be between state act ...

between

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

during the

Angolan Civil War The Angolan Civil War ( pt, Guerra Civil Angolana) was a civil war in Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with interludes, until 2002. The war immediately began after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. The war was ...

and

South African Border War The South African Border War, also known as the Namibian War of Independence, and sometimes denoted in South Africa as the Angolan Bush War, was a largely asymmetric conflict that occurred in Namibia (then South West Africa), Zambia, and Ango ...

, a withdrawal of South African troops from Angola and established a commission to oversee the treaty's implementation. The agreement was short-lived because of the widely-differing interpretations of the treaty's implications. The

South African Defence Force The South African Defence Force (SADF) (Afrikaans: ''Suid-Afrikaanse Weermag'') comprised the armed forces of South Africa from 1957 until 1994. Shortly before the state reconstituted itself as a republic in 1961, the former Union Defence F ...

(SADF), represented by Johannes "Jannie" Geldenhuys, wished for a phased Cuban withdrawal in concert with their own units. They also insisted that the

People's Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola The People's Armed Forces of Liberation of Angola ( pt, Forças Armadas Populares de Libertação de Angola) or FAPLA was originally the armed wing of the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) but later (1975–1991) became Ango ...

(FAPLA) were to assist in expelling Namibian insurgents from Angolan territory. However, the FAPLA had no intention of allowing its Cuban allies to depart and remained noticeably unenthusiastic about referencing Namibian parties, particularly the

South West African People's Organization The South West Africa People's Organisation (, SWAPO; af, Suidwes-Afrikaanse Volks Organisasie, SWAVO; german: Südwestafrikanische Volksorganisation, SWAVO), officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former ind ...

and its military wing, the

People's Liberation Army of Namibia The People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) was the military wing of the South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO). It fought against the South African Defence Force (SADF) and South West African Territorial Force (SWATF) during the Sou ...

(PLAN), in the agreement. For its part South Africa did nothing to combat the

National Union for the Total Independence of Angola The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola ( pt, União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola, abbr. UNITA) is the second-largest political party in Angola. Founded in 1966, UNITA fought alongside the Popular Movement for ...

(UNITA), which also retained a presence in the SADF's operational area. The continued activity of PLAN and UNITA resulted in violations of the accords by both sides. Fidel Castro criticised the Lusaka Accords as "impermissible and incredible", a statement that was echoed by the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. That criticism by Angola's two chief military benefactors led to a breakdown in the treaty. It was annulled ''de facto'' on 16 May 1985, and an escalation of hostilities followed.

External links

All Peace Agreements for Angola
UN Peacemaker
All Peace Agreements for South Africa
UN Peacemaker

References

{{South African Border War 1984 in Angola 1984 in South Africa Angola–South Africa relations Peace treaties of Angola Peace treaties of South Africa Angolan Civil War South African Border War Treaties concluded in 1984 Treaties entered into force in 1984 Treaties of South Africa Treaties of the People's Republic of Angola 1984 in South African law