The Forças Armadas de Cabinda (FAC), or Armed Forces of Cabinda, is the armed wing of the political Cabindan nationalist group Frente para a Libertação do Enclave de Cabinda (FLEC, ). the Movement for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (MLEC) in Léopoldville in 1959, chaired by Luis Ranque Franque, the Action Committee of the Union Nationale Cabindaise (CAUNC) in Brazzaville in 1961, chaired by Henrique N'zita Tiago and the Alliance du Mayombe (ALIAMA, named after the massive forest in the north of Cabinda) in Pointe-Noire in 1962, chaired by António Eduardo Sozinho Nzau. In 1963, the three separatist political movements merged to found the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave du Cabinda (FLEC), based in Pointe-Noire. The goal of the FAC is the

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

of the

exclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...

of Cabinda better known as the Republic of Cabinda, from the occupation by Angola in 1975 to the present. Founded in 1977, the FAC bases its claim for Cabindan independence on the fact that Cabinda is not geographically contiguous with Angola as well as on February 1, 1885, Treaty of Simulambuco, Portugal declared them a protectorate and further in 1957, Portugal placed Cabinda and Angola under the authority of a single administrator, without modifying the Treaty of Simulambuco, but was not to make Cabina part of Angola. Today the FLEC-FAC army, made up of civilian volunteers, inside and outside Cabinda fights for the independence of Cabinda against the Peoples Movement for the Liberation of Angola

MPLA The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (, abbr. MPLA), from 1977–1990 called the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola – Labour Party (), is an Angolan social democratic political party. The MPLA fought against the P ...

. a socialist-based political movement and the government of Angola. The FAC contends that colonial Portuguese documents prove that Cabinda is not part of Angola's administrative borders, and was instead a separate protectorate.

References

External links

GlobalSecurity.org file on Cabinda
Cabinda independence movement Paramilitary organizations based in Angola Separatism in Angola {{Africa-mil-stub

See also

References

External links