Complex sentence: Their backing of UNITA followed a pattern typical to many African bush conflicts of the time, which took the form of rival regimes reaching across borders and cultivating alliances with rebel groups later groomed as proxies, or simply as convenient tools to influence foreign politics.
Split into simpler sentences: Their backing of UNITA followed a pattern typical to many African bush conflicts of the time, which took the form of rival regimes reaching across borders and cultivating alliances with rebel groups. The rebels were later groomed as proxies, or simply used as convenient tools to influence foreign politics.