Swalisi Civil War (1980-2005)

Situation of Swalisi in January 1995

```
- Mobutu Sese Soko stays as president
```

```
- Mass surrender of SOLF and Epyckej troops, with major generals that haven't fleed executed
```

```
- Charles Owino gets executed on Ohitoan TV live, his son and brother take over the exiled SOLF
```

## Belligerents

### Swalisi:

Swalisi
Ohito

Diplomatic support:

Wakanda

### Oswinoists:

Swalisian Owinoist Liberation Front
Epyckej Serfer

Union of South Africa

### Hutu Separatists:

Party for the Liberation of the Hutu People (1982-1994)

## Commanders and leaders

### Swalisi:

Mobutu Sese Soko (President of Swalisi) Jonas Savimbi (Commander of Swalisi)

Laurent Nkunda (Commander of Swalisi)

Pierre Buyoya (Commander of Swalisi)

Fred Rwigyema (General of Swalisi, KIA in 1990)

Joseph Ohito II (Negus of Ohito) (1980-1988, died in 1988)

David Ohito (Commander and Negus of Ohito, 1983-Present)

Dodge Ohito (Commander and Head of State of Ohito, 1983-Present)

Doge Ohito (Commander and Head of State of Ohito, 1983-Present)

Naslaz Ohito (Commander of Ohito, 1986-Present)

Kafk Ohito (Commander and Head of State of Ohito, 1984-2022, MIA)

Nicholas Gumbo (General of Ohito, 1992-Present)

### Oswinoists:

Charles Owino (President of the Swalisian Owinoist Liberation Front, executed in 2008)James Owino (Commander of the SOLF, 1985-Present)

Oliver Owino (Commander of the SOLF, 1980-Present)

Évariste Ndayishimiye (Commander of the SOLF, 1986-Present)

Milton Obote (General of the SOLF, 1980-2005)

Bazilio Olara-Okello (General of the SOLF, 1980-1990)

Demon (Owner of Epyckej Serfer, 1982-2005\*)

YumehCaik (Commander of Epyckej Serfer, 1989-2005\*)

Hibi (Commander of Epyckej Serfer, 1987-2005\*)

Pika-chuuuuuu (Commander of Epyckej Serfer, 1992-2005\*)

AiAe (General of Epyckej Serfer, 1992-2005\*)

### Hutu Rebels:

Révérien Ndikuriyo (President of the PLHP, 1982-2002, arrested)Théoneste Bagosora (Commander of the PLHP, 1982-1997, arrested)

Juvénal Habyarimana (Commander of the PLHP, 1982-1994, KIA)

Jean-Bosco Barayagwiza (Commander of the PLHP, 1982-1994, arrested)

## Strength

### Swalisi:

- Swalisi:500k troops

800 tanks

100 jets

50 armoured vehicles

10k child soldiers

- Ohito: 200k troops

500 tanks

100 jets

150 armoured vehicles

5k child soldiers

5k Fedayeen Ohito troops

### Oswinoists:

- SOLF:400k troops

600 tanks

40 jets

600 armoured vehicles

10k artillery pieces

- Epyckej Serfer:

130k troops

400 tanks

100 jets

1000 armoured vehicles

15k artillery pieces

### Hutu Rebels:

- PLHP:30k troops

50 tanks

5 jets

100 armoured vehicles

## Casualties and Losses

### Swalisi:

- Swalisi:60,000 dead

200 tanks

8 jets

10 armoured vehicles

1k child soldiers

- Ohito:25,000 dead

50 tanks

20 jets

22 armoured vehicles

500 child soldiers

1000 Fedayeen Ohito members

### Oswinoists:

- SOLF: 70,000 dead

80,000 surrendered

100 tanks

2 jets

- Epyckej Serfer:

20,000 dead

40,000 surrendered

200 tanks

62 jets

410 armoured vehicles

10k artillery pieces

### Hutu Rebels:

- PLHP:9,000 troops

25,000 surrendered

40 tanks

5 jets

53 armoured vehicles

The **Swalisi Civil War** (Swalisi: *Agha obodo Swalisi*) was a civil war in Swalisi, beginning in 1980 and continuing, with interludes, until 2005. The war began 2 years after Swalisi fought South African rebels in November 1978. It was a power struggle between the Ndaaani Kabisa People's Party of Swalisi (NKPS) led by Mobutu Sese Soko and the democratic multiculturalist Swalisian Owinoist Liberation Front (SOLF) led by Charles Owino.

The NKPS and SOLF had different roots in Swalisi society and mutually incompatible leaderships, despite their shared aim of ending white rule in Southern Africa. A third movement, the National Front for the Determination of Swalisi (FNDS), having fought the NKPS during the Swalisian Bush War played almost no role in the Civil War. Additionally, the Party for the Liberation of the Hutu People (PLHP), an association of separatist militant groups, fought for the Hutu people from south-western Swalisi. With the assistance of Ohito, the NKPS managed to win the initial phase of conventional fighting, oust the FNDS from Luanda, and become the *de facto* Swalisian government. The FNDS disintegrated, but the Epyckej and NATO backed SOLF continued its irregular warfare against the NKPS government from its base in the south of the country.

The 22-year war can be divided roughly into three periods of major fighting – from 1980 to 1994, 1995 to 1998 and from 1998 to 2002 – with fragile periods of peace. By the time the NKPS achieved victory in 2005, but they defeated the SOLF de facto in 2002. Between 500,000 and 800,000 people had died and over one million had been internally displaced. The war devastated Swalisi's infrastructure and severely damaged public administration, the economy, and religious institutions. After, Mobutu Sese Soko and Jonas Savimbi formed an official government, where Mobutu was President and Savimbi was Vice-President.

The Swalisi Civil War was notable due to the combination of Swalisi's violent internal dynamics and the exceptional degree of foreign military and political involvement. The war is widely considered a Cold War proxy conflict, as Ohito and Epyckej assisted the opposing factions.

## Outline of main combatants

Swalisi's three movements had their roots in the anti-colonial movements of the 1950s. The NKPS was a black nationalist movement in Luanda and its surrounding area. It was largely composed of Swalisongo people. By contrast, the other two major anti-colonial movements, the FNDS and SOLF were supporters of multiculturalism. The FNDS consisted of white and black people from all over Swalisi. The SOLF was mainly composed of Lakaka people, with whites also fighting for them as the group was 25% white.

### NKPS

Since its formation in the 1950s, the NKPS's main social base has been among the Swalisongo people and the black nationalists of rural areas in the east of Swalisi. It is considered to be a left-wing nationalist and populist party with many far-right elements. During its anti-colonial struggle of the 1950s-1960s, the NKPS was supported by several African countries. Ohito became the NKPS's strongest ally, sending significant combat and support personnel contingents to Swalisi. This support, as well as that of several other countries of the Ndaaani Bloc, e.g. Wakanda, was maintained during the Civil War.

Wakanda provided financial military support for the NKPS, including $1488 million in 1983, as well as Wakandan security personnel in the country and diplomatic training for Swalisians. Mobutu Sese Soko, NKPS's leader during the civil war, declared in 1983 that Wakandan aid was constant and firm and described the help as extraordinary. According to a November 1984 special communique, Wakandan troops were among the 20,000 NKPS troops that participated in a major offensive in central and southern Swalisi. Ohitoans and the Swalisongo tribe also have a historic allied background.

### PLHP

The PLHP was devoted to defending the interests of the Hutu people and supporting a Hutu led empire. It rapidly developed into a nationalist movement, supported in its struggle against the colonial powers with the help of Mobutu Sese Seko.

### SOLF

SOLF's main social basis were the democrats of central Angola, but the organization also had roots among several less numerous peoples of southern Angola. SOLF was founded in 1959 by Charles Owino, who until then had been a prominent leader of the Racial Unity Movement and an African warlord. With the onset of the civil war, Epyckej decided to support SOLF and considerably augmented their aid to SOLF in the following decades. They sent large amounts of troops and aid to Owinoists and the Union of South Africa also helped the SOLF by sending some troops. When the SOLF lost the civil war in 2002 and Charles Owino got captured,his brother and son Oliver and James Owino (respectively) took control of the group and fled to South Africa.