page_title: Operation Kitona
section_title: Angolan intervention
hierarchical_section_title: Operation Kitona / Foreign intervention / Angolan intervention
caption_attribution_description: English: Ural trucks during the military exercise Kwanza 2010 in Angola in June 2010.
context_page_description: Operation Kitona was a Rwandan/Ugandan offensive that marked the beginning of the Second Congo War. Rwanda hoped to depose Laurent-Désiré Kabila and install a government more favorable to Rwanda's interests by quickly taking control of Kinshasa and the strategic western province of Bas-Congo. On August 4, 1998, joint Rwandan and Ugandan forces launched a surprise attack on Kitona airbase in Western Congo using hijacked civilian airliners. While initially successful in taking control of major ports and infrastructure, Zimbabwean and Angolan intervention prevented the Rwandans and Ugandans from taking control of Kinshasa. The invading forces were forced to withdraw to the jungles of Angola until they were evacuated by air to Rwanda ending December 24, 1998.
  Today the operation is studied for its daring initial aerial assault, as well as the intelligence failures on the Rwandan side.
context_section_description: Before beginning the operation, Rwandan intelligence had indicated Angola had no intention of assisting Kabila's regime. Under Kabila, the Congo had sheltered members of UNITA, an insurgent group in conflict with the MPLA since Angola's independence from Portugal. While this information was accurate with respect to many in the Angolan Army, José Eduardo dos Santos, the President of Angola, remained a friend of Kabila. On August 22, a force of 2,500 Angolans entered the Congo, retaking Kitona the following morning. The Rwandan rear guard continued to fight however, with Banana and Moanda holding out until the 28th. Once recaptured, these cities were once again subject to rape and looting by the victorious Angolan troops. It is widely believed that Kabila's regime would not have survived the operation without Angolan Intervention.
caption: Angolan Army Personnel, with equipment similar to that in use in 1998.
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